More Than It Seems
by Maria-Elric05
Summary: This taken place after the events of All That Stands Forgiven. All is not as well as it seems for Greg and Leila. They moved on with their lives but can they truly move on after everything that's happened between them? Their lives are about to be changed.
1. A New Old Face

People pushed and shoved their way through the crowd, trying to find their seats. A young teenage girl with shoulder length brown hair was trying to fight her way through the crowd without getting knocked to the ground and trampled. She knew that was dangerous. She could be stomped to death or, if she was lucky, just make it out with a few bumps and bruises. She felt as though she already had a few bruises already from all the pushes, shoves and bumps from the crowd. She finally found her seat and sat down, front row.

It was a regular warm, sunny day in Las Vegas. A lot of people had gathered for an annual dirt bike race. There were bets going around, peopling voting for their favorite rider. It was a dangerous sport but it still drew a good size crowd every year. The young girl, though she didn't much care for the sport, still managed to come to as many of the races as she could. It wasn't for the same reasons as most of the people in the crowd. She waved over at one of the riders as he mounted his bike. He waved back.

The rest of the riders mounted their bikes as well, revving up their engines and filling the arena with noise. The crowd cheered and yelled, excited and apprehensive for the race to begin. The crowd watched as the flagman took his position, held up the green flag and with a wave of the flag, the racer were off. The crowd was on their feet, cheering on their riders.

* * *

Red and blue sirens could be seen in the parking lot, the source being several police cars parked around the front of the arena. People stood around, some appearing shocked while others were angry or impatient. There were some people crying, others looking ready for a fight. There were several police officers trying to get statements from possible witnesses. Some were cooperating, some weren't.

Two young adults wearing black crime scene investigation vests walked through the crowd, kits in hand. Both the badges on the vests said Sanders but one was a tall male with short, light brown hair, the other a female with long, dark brown hair. The two of them walked under the crime scene tape, joining their homicide detective.

"Hey Sophia." said the female.

"Hey Leila, hey Greg." said Sophia.

"What do we got?" asked Greg as they followed Sophia toward where the victim laid with the assistant coroner David Philips knelt next to him, examining him.

"Jeffery Adams, age 32. Witnesses say he just lost control of his bike, next thing they know, he was lying motionless. Paramedics pronounced about 20 minutes ago. He was a motocross racer since he was a teenager, made it big when he was 23, won quite few races, had a fair share of sponsors and has made every major event." said Sophia.

"Yeah, that is until today." said Leila.

"His wife, Evelyn, 34, lives in Colorado and never shows up to his races. No kids. His manager is Alexander Richensen, who is currently missing. No one seems to know where he is." said Sophia.

"He didn't show up for the race?" asked Greg.

"Not according the people I've talked to, no one saw him. I'll swing by his house and check it out. If he's not there, I'll put out a broadcast." said Sophia.

"Alright, thanks." said Leila as Sophia walked away. She turned her attention to the body and David. "Hey Dave. Got an estimated C.O.D.?" she asked.

"Well, I'm not seeing any kind of puncture wounds or bullet holes, no apparent trauma to the body." said Dave.

"No trauma, are you sure?" asked Leila. She felt something wasn't right.

"None visible but it could take time to show. I'll know more once I get him to autopsy." said Dave.

Leia just nodded than moved her attention to the race track.

"Something wrong Leila?" asked Greg.

"I don't know, something just doesn't seem right. If the vic's laying in the middle of the track, you think at least one or two of the other racers would have hit him." said Leila.

"Maybe they just got lucky and moved in time to avoid him." suggested Greg.

"Not in Vegas honey." said Leila.

Greg just smiled and laughed.

Just then, Leila spotted a familiar face in the crowd standing behind the evidence tape, watching her. She walked over to a young teenage girl.

"Leda? What're you doing here?" asked Leila.

"I came to see the race." said Leda.

Leila shot her a skeptical look.

"You hate sports Leda. Now tell me the truth, what're you doing here?" she asked.

"Alright, my brother was one of the racers. He started racing last year." said Leda.

"Where is dear old Victor?" asked Leila.

"One of the officers arrested him. He attacked one of them when they tried to question him." said Leda.

"Now why doesn't that surprise me?" asked Leila rhetorically.

Leda just smiled at Leila's humorism.

Right then, Greg walked over and joined the two ladies.

"Oh, Greg, this is my younger cousin, Leda. Leda, this is Greg Sanders, my husband." said Leila.

"Nice to meet you." said Greg, holding out his hand for Leda to shake.

"You too." said Leda, shaking Greg's hand. Then she turned back to her older cousin. "Married huh? I never pegged you for marriage material. 'Course that would explain why you both have the name 'Sanders' on your vest. But where's your ring?"

"I don't wear it to crime scenes." said Leila.

"Oh, afraid it'll get lost? Or maybe you're just afraid it might get a little bit of blood on it." said Leda, picking on her cousin right as Leila's cell phone rang.

"You're very funny. Excuse me." said Leila, upon seeing it was Sophia calling. She flipped it open and placed it to her ear. "Yeah, Sophia. You find the manager?"

_"Well sort of. We did find him, but I think someone else got to him first. He's dead."_said Sophia.

"I'll be right there." said Leila, hanging up. She turned to Greg. "Sophia found the manager, dead."

"Maybe you were right. Maybe something isn't right." said Greg.

"Geeh, you think?" said Leila, sarcastically. She ducked under the tape and started to head toward her and Greg's SUV.

"Hey, what about me? You just gonna leave me stranded here?" asked Greg.

Leila stopped and turned back to him.

"I'm sure one of the officers will be happy to give you a ride back to the lab." she said.

"And what about me? My brother was my ride." said Leda.

"Take a cab." said Leila.

"With what, my good looks? Besides, I have nowhere to stay." said Leda.

"Fine, come on. You can ride with me." said Leila, turning and heading back towards the SUV.

Leda followed Leila and hopped in the passenger seat while Leila put her kit in the back than hopped in the driver seat.

* * *

Leila walked into the residence of Alexander Richensen. She found Sophia standing in the back bedroom, next to the body of the manager. Doc Robbins was knelt next to the body. There was a fair sized blood pool around the victim.

"Hello again Sophia, hey Doc." she greeted.

"Hey Leila. Busy night." said Doc.

"Sure is. Everyone's out on a case. We even had to get swing and some from day's to help. Ecklie must be lovin' it." said Leila.

Doc just laughed at Leila's sense of humor. None of them liked Ecklie much, especially Leila after all the trouble he had been putting Leila and Greg through since they got married.

"Well, C.O.D. appears to be a single gunshot wound to the back. Bullet was a through and through. I'll know more after autopsy." he said.

"Thanks Doc." said Leila. She started taking pictures of the body and the room. She paused for a moment, lifting a small dark hair from the shirt and a single stray fiber. She put them each in evident envelopes, putting them in the front pocket of her vest than she went back to taking photos. She carefully collected the bullet from a hole in the wall.

After she was finished with that room, she headed to the next room, the living room. It appeared normal, no signs of a struggle. It didn't even appear as though someone was even in there recently. On a small table was a phone and an answering machine with three messages. Leila hit play.

_"Mr. Richensen, this is Michelle from Nevada Commerce Bank. I'm just calling to late you know that you have over withdrawn from your account and we need to get this settled as soon as possible. If you could just give me a call back or stop by the bank, I'm sure we can work something out."_

"Well that was an interesting message." said Sophia, who had come in behind Leila.

"Yeah sure was. You think maybe our Mr. Richensen was heading into debt?" asked Leila.

"Could be. I'll get a warrant for his bank records." said Sophia. She fell quiet as the next message played.

The next message started to play and both listened.

_"Hello, Mr. Richensen? This is Victor Roderiguez, you just signed on as my manger. I was just calling to let you know that I'll be in tomorrow's race and that I plan on winning, no matter what it takes. I'll do anything to make sure I win and I mean anything."_

"I know him. Victor Roderiguez is one of my cousins. I saw his sister Leda at the race track earlier. She told me that he started racing about a year ago." said Leila.

"Sounds like we've got ourselves a suspect and a motive." said Sophia.

"Mr. Richensen managing two motocross racers? If that's not enough motive, I don't know what is." said Leila.

_"Alex, where the hell are you? I'm sitting on the track, the race is about to start and you're not here. What is more important than your client? Get your ass here or you're a dead man!"_

"Wow, someone sure was angry." said Leila.

"Yeah. Think maybe that was our first vic, Jeffery Adams?" asked Sophia.

"Could have been. But I don't think he could of killed Mr. Richensen. He was already dead." said Leila.

"Someone sure took him up on that threat." said Sophia.

"Yeah. Let's get Mr. Richensen phone records as well." said Leila. She took the tape out of the answering machine and bagged it. "I'll get this to Archie, see what he can do with it."

* * *

Leila walked down the corridors of the lab, a file in hand. Sophia had gotten her Alexander Richensen bank records and his phone records. She had dropped the fiber off in Trace, the hair in DNA and she gave Archie the tape from the answering machine, figuring he could have some fun with it. She was heading for the morgue to see if Doc Robbins had anything new on either victim when Greg ran up next to her, walking in stride with her.

"Hey, where you off to?" he asked.

"Autopsy." said Leila flatly.

"I was just heading there myself. What do you got there?" asked Greg, pointing at the file in her hands.

"Sophia got me Alexander Richensen's bank and phone records. It appears that Jefferey Adams wasn't the only one he was managing. He was also just recently manager for Victor Roderiguez, Leda's brother." said Leila.

"Your cousin?" asked Greg.

"Yep. And it also seems that Mr. Richensen was heading into debt. He over withdrew his account." said Leila, showing Greg the bank records.

"And you think Victor could be the killer?" asked Greg.

"I don't know, but as of right now he is a suspect. Sophia's talking to him now. How come I'm the only one in my family that can stay on the right side of the law?" asked Leila but it was rhetorical. She didn't want to hear an answer.

Greg just smiled as they walked into the morgue where Doc Robbins was just finishing closing up Alexander Richensen.

"Hey Doc, got anything new for us?" asked Leila.

"Yeah. Alexander Richensen died yesterday afternoon, somewhere around two or three." said Doc.

"He died before Jefferey Adams?" asked Greg.

"Yep. Bullet trajectory was back to front and downward, meaning your killer was most likely taller than your vic." said Doc.

"Mr. Richensen was 5'7, Jefferey Adams was 5'9, Victor Roderiguez is 5'6." said Leila.

"I'd say you're killer is at least six feet in height so it's possible Jefferey Adams could have done it." said Doc.

"And he's dead." said Greg.

"So who killed him?" asked Leila.

"Well, I can tell you this much. The reason Mr. Adams could have lost control of his bike was that he was drugged. Did a tox screen, found quazepam." said Doc.

"Isn't that a sedative used for insomnia?" asked Leila.

Doc Robbins nodded.

"Onset of the impairment of consciousness is usually relatively quick in benzodiazepine poisoning. Toxic effects tend to include depressed mental status, ataxia, vertigo, dizziness, fatigue, impaired motor co-ordination, confusion, disorientation and anterograde amnesia, among others." he said.

Leila and Greg both looked at each other.

"Someone wasn't taking any chances. They really wanted this guy dead." said Greg.

"And they succeeded." said Leila.

"Now we just have to figure out who." said Greg.

"So what did kill Mr. Adams?" asked Leila.

"Official cause is due to respiratory arrest." said Doc.

* * *

Leila and Greg walked into the DNA lab together, hoping and praying that Wendy had something on the hair that Leila had collected off of Alexander Richensen.

"Wendy, please tell me you've got something on that hair I found." said Leila.

"I do. There were no hits in CODIAS but I did find something interesting. Whoever left this hair behind has half the DNA markers in common with your vic." said Wendy, handing Leila the printout.

"Possible first degree relatives." said Greg, looking out the printout with Leila.

"Great, this just gets better and better." said Leila, shoving the paper into Greg's chest than walking out of the lab.

Greg handed the printout back to Wendy than followed after his wife. He caught up with her as she headed for Trace.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little frustrated and I'm really tired. I just wanna finish this case so we can go home." said Leila.

"Well we did just pull a triple." said Greg.

"Surprised we've even made it this far without collapsing from exhaustion. And Ecklie can kiss my ass if he thinks I'll take one more case." said Leila as they headed to the Trace lab.

Greg just smiled. He was the one main person that Leila would confide in, other than Grissom but he was usually busy and Leila didn't like bothering him all the time.

When they walked into the Trace lab, Hodges was nowhere in sight.

"Where the hell is he?" asked Leila.

"Probably kissing Ecklie's ass." said Greg.

The two of them walked back out to try and find him, which they knew would be a task in and of itself. If Hodges wasn't up Ecklie's ass, he was usually pestering Grissom and trying to impress him, usually only succeeding in annoying him.

"Why don't you go check with Bobby about the bullet from Richensen's house, I'll track down Hodges and see if he has those results." said Leila.

"Okay. Play nice." said Greg as he started his way toward ballistics.

"Don't I always." said Leila before turning and heading toward Grissom's office, hoping she would get lucky and find Hodges there. If she had to go on a hunting spree for him, she would kill him. She was too exhausted to have to hunt him down to get her results.

When she reached Grissom's office, she found herself in luck. Hodges and Grissom were both in there and from the look on her Godfather's face, Hodges was once again annoying him. She walked right in without even knocking.

"Hodges, do you have my results?" asked Leila.

"Results?" asked Hodges, acting as though he had no clue as to what she was talking about.

"For the fiber I left with you half an hour ago, from Alexander Richensen." said Leila, getting more and more agitated.

"Oh those results. I didn't exactly consider it to be a priority." said Hodges.

"It's a murder case Hodges. I need those results." said Leila.

Hodges didn't move.

"Some time tonight would be great Hodges. Like, now because I would really like to go home and get some sleep. I'm exhausted and don't really feel like arguing with you right now." said Leila.

Hodges still didn't move from his seat.

"Now Hodges." said Grissom in a voice that would have even sent chills down Leila spine if she weren't pissed off herself.

"I'll get right on it." said Hodges, getting up and heading out of the office, back to the trace lab.

"I swear, I don't know what that guy has against me." said Leila.

"It's not you he has something against, it's Greg. He and Greg have never liked each other much. Hodges was blamed to have caused the explosion in the DNA lab that Greg was injured in because he left the hot plate on. When Catherine put an unknown substance under the fume hood, the heat from the hot plate caused an explosion. Greg had been standing in front of the fume hood and was thrown through the glass wall. He received burns on his neck and back. Everyone jumped to conclusions thinking that Hodges did it on purpose. He feels threatened by Greg, I suppose because Greg is well-liked and popular with a lot of the other lab techs." said Grissom.

"And most of the people around here don't like him very much, if at all. But everyone likes Greg and respects him." said Leila.

"And then ever since you and Greg got married, he sees it as Greg getting special treatment." said Grissom.

"Well I hate to burst his bubble but me and Greg had to fight through hell to be able to stay together and be able to get married plus keep our jobs." said Leila.

"He likes you Leila, a lot. Has for awhile but he knew that you liked Greg so he let it go. He respects you, that's why he rarely insults Greg when you're around." said Grissom.

"I see." said Leila.

Grissom knew he didn't have to say anything else.

Right then, a knock from the doorway interrupted them and they turned to see Greg standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Bobby got a hit on your bullet. Belongs to a Walther P99 semi-auto pistol." he said.

"List of owners?" asked Leila.

Greg held up a folder containing the list of people who owned a Walther P99 semi-auto.

"You doubt me?" he said.

Leila just smiled than walked over to where her husband stood. She walked out into the hall with him and they talked as they walked down the corridor.

"So, I saw Hodges was back in his hole, not very happy to say the least. What'd you do to piss him off this time?" asked Greg.

"I wasn't in the mood to play his little games. He acted as though he had no idea what I was talking about when I asked him for the results and said that he didn't consider it to be a priority. He didn't move 'til Grissom said something." said Leila as they walked into the break room.

Greg grabbed the two of them a cup of coffee while Leila sat down with the file and started going over the list. He sat down next to her, setting the cup down in front of her. She took a drink without looking up from the list.

"You think he has a grudge against you or something?" asked Greg.

"Or something." said Leila, being her usual sarcastic self.

"Smartass." said Greg, grinning.

Leila just looked at him and gave him a small smile before turning back to the list in front of her. She went to take another drink of coffee but stopped before the cup touched her lips. She had just spotted a name on the list that was all too familiar to her.

"Leila? You okay?" asked Greg.

Without a word, Leila set her cup back down, got up and hurried out of the break room, heading to the DNA lab with Greg following behind her.

"Wendy, I need you to do me a favor." said Leila.

"Sure, name it." said Wendy, a little confused.

Leila grabbed a swab and, before either of the other two could even react, swabbed the inside of her cheek before holding it out to Wendy.

"Compare this to the hair I found." she said.

Wendy looked baffled by Leila's request but took the swab and started running the test.

Leila paced the room, her arms folded on her chest, as she waited. Greg just sat in silence, watching his wife. He knew that something had spooked her when she left the break room in a hurry, he just didn't know what. He hadn't looked at the list before he followed her. He was about to ask her when Wendy spoke up.

"Well, I'm guessing that you already know that it doesn't match your DNA. But it, and the vic's DNA, have several markers in common with yours." said Wendy.

Both Greg and Wendy looked at Leila, confused. She looked like she had expected those results, she just needed confirmation.

"Leila, what's going on?" asked Wendy.

"I wish I knew." said Leila. She walked out of the lab and headed back toward Grissom's office.

Greg followed closely behind her.

"I think you do know." he said.

Leila said nothing. She kept walking, walking straight into Grissom's office.

"You have to take me off the case Gil." she said before he had a chance to say anything.

"Why?" asked Grissom.

"Conflict of interest. My cousin Leda was at our crime scene. She told me her brother, Victor had started racing a year ago and was in the race with our vic. He was arrested for assaulting an officer that tried to question him. I just had Wendy compare my DNA with the hair I found on Alexander Richensen. Several markers in common. And Victor owns a Walther P99 semi-auto." said Leila.

"Well, that doesn't necessarily mean that I have to take you off the case Leila." said Grissom.

"Oh come on Gil, the last time I handled a case involving a member of my family, it all almost went to hell. I can't touch this case anymore Gil, I don't wanna take any chances with this." said Leila.

"What exactly are we discussing here? This case, or your father's?" asked Grissom.

Leila couldn't believe what she had just heard. She was doing everyone a favoring by telling Grissom to take her off of the case because of her cousin but he wasn't willing to do it because he thought that she was thinking that this case would turn out the same way as her father's had. Without a word, she turned and left his office.

Greg turned to follow her but Grissom's voice beckoned him back.

"Greg, let her go. She needs to be alone right now." he said.

"Yeah, I still remember what happened the last time you told me that. She nearly killed herself because of her father. I'm not taking that chance again." said Greg and he went after his wife. He found her sitting alone in the locker room, staring at the floor. He leaned against the door frame. "Hey. You okay?" he asked.

Leila looked up at the sound of her husband's voice and turned her gaze to meet his.

"I don't know. The last time I worked a case where a member of my family was the suspect, I ended up shooting him and killing him. Now I feel like it's happening all over again." she said, tearing her gaze away from him and looking back at the floor.

Greg walked over and knelt down in front of Leila, taking her hands in his. She slowly looked back at him.

"But this time it's different. He's not after you." said Greg.

"Not yet he isn't." said Leila flatly.

It hurt Greg to see her like this, to see that something like this could cause her such pain and force her to remember all the pain and horror that her father had put both him and her through. She had fled Miami after he had tracked her down and come to Vegas to try to seek refuge with her godfather. That's when they had met and eventually fell in love after a few gentle pushes on Greg's part when Leila acted as though she was afraid to be around him but she eventually let him see how she truly felt. It was a couple months later when her father tracked her down again but she didn't find out until she had gone to a crime scene with him and Grissom, only to discover that the victim was her sister, Michelle. Leila tried hard to hide the fact that she was actually scared that her father had found her again in order to protect her friends. Her father showed up at the lab and attacked her and Grissom. Warrick had evacuated everyone else from the lab and gotten them to safety. Leila was shot in the arm when her father shot at her when she and Grissom tried to run. Brass and other uniformed officers showed up and her father was arrested. Grissom was the one who questioned him while Leila and the rest of the team watched. Her father attacked Grissom and stabbed him. Grissom was taken to the hospital and everyone took a turn watching over him. That's when the FBI showed up, looking for her father but Leila refused to cooperate. She held a grudge against the FBI since they had placed her mother in protective custody but failed to protect her mom, along with her and her sister.

A few months later and everyone figured everything was back to normal. Leila and Greg were leaving a restaurant where they had just had a date at when a car not too far from them exploded. They come to discover that the two men that had been in the car when it blew up were FBI agents that had been following and watching both Leila and Greg for some time. After the FBI showed up again, she find out that her father had escaped a couple months ago and was once again on the loose. Grissom also discovers that Leila and Greg are still seeing each other after he had forbidden them not to. The FBI calls in a profiler, which turns out to be an ex-boyfriend of Leila's from high school that her father had set her up with. Him and Greg end up butting heads a few times over Leila, eventually causing a fight between Leila and Greg. They didn't speak the rest of the day and when Leila comes in the next day to discover that Greg had been kidnapped. She becomes more determined to find Greg and get him back safely than finding her father. The FBI doesn't see it her way. They want to catch her father at all costs but Leila isn't willing to risk Greg's life. She hides in the bathroom and that's when she gets a phone call from her ex and he tells her to meet him. She agrees and he takes her to where Greg is being held, becoming a captive herself but she now knows Greg's okay and she can protect him. They apologize to each other for the fight. Grissom and the others eventually find them and Leila's ex and father are taken into custody. The team goes out to a club and Greg ends up proposing to Leila.

Weeks later, Greg and Leila are now living together now, making sure they keep their relationship outside of work. While investigating a crime scene, Grissom discovers that it is related to an old case from a few years ago. He sends Leila home, knowing that she can no longer handle any of the evidence or even work the case. After she stops to get something to eat, a man harasses her. Once he walks away, she pulls out and leaves, heading home. But she doesn't make it far when a pickup truck slams into her. She loses consciousness and after awakening, she finds herself in a cheap motel room. She figures out that she's in Miami. When she's able, she calls Horatio, who calls her fellow teammates in Vegas and Catherine and Sara head to Miami to help find her. Her captors, for whatever reason, take her to a party where Horatio finds her. Her captors are arrested and Grissom, Nick, Warrick and Greg show up at the Miami-Dade Crime Lab. They find out that her father escaped again and is in New York. Grissom, Horatio, Leila, Greg and Eric head to New York to find him, meeting up with Mac Taylor, supervisor for the New York crime lab. Her father ends up kidnapping Horatio. She tracks him down and goes to meet him alone, not telling anyone where she's going. She fights her father and ends up shooting him. Grissom and Greg head back to Vegas but Leila goes back to Miami with Horatio and Eric, deciding to stay in Miami for a couple weeks, figuring it would be good for her.

While she was in Miami, the FBI agent from her mother's case showed up and tells her that Tim Speedle is still alive, that his death was staged so that he could watch over her. She finds him and the two of them go back to her apartment so they could talk privately. Overwhelmed with emotions, Leila ends up having an affair with Tim. She calls Horatio and he comes over. She asks for his advice and he tells her to tell Greg. She does. And Greg isn't very happy. A few days later, he shows up at her apartment and hands her divorce papers than leaving without another word. Against her own wishes, Leila signs the papers. She cried for days but eventually comes to terms with what she had done. Tim ends up proposing to her and they get married a few weeks later, even inviting Grissom, Catherine, Sara, Nick, Warrick, Hodges, David, Doc Robbins, and even Greg, who showed up against his will and it showed. Leila and him had a fight in the parking lot but make up after awhile and were friends. Leila moved to Miami but stayed in contact with her friends in Vegas when she could.

A year passed before the two of them even saw each other again. Leila felt that things between her and Tim weren't working out and that she couldn't stop thinking about Greg. The one person that noticed was Alexx and she suggested that Leila go back to Greg. She talked to Tim and he agreed. They divorced and Leila came back to Vegas. She waited for Greg in the parking lot until he got off work. When he saw her, he thought he was dreaming. The two of them went back to his apartment and made amends. She headed back to the lab with Greg the next day and transferred back. While the two of them were working a case, Leila was kidnapped. The others were trying hard to find her but were surprised when she turned up back at the lab a day later. They watched her carefully as her moods and behavior changed. It got so bad that Leila ended up raping Greg once and attacking him in Grissom's office. This made her change quickly. She felt terrible for hurting him and it made her feel worse that he wouldn't be mad at her but at the same time, she was relieved. As Greg was about to take her home, Ecklie showed up with two officers and arrested Greg. Leila's kidnapper had turned himself in and was framing Greg. Archie and Leila end up finding a second person in the video that her kidnapper had sent and it turned out to be Donald James, cousin of Demetrius James, the boy that was involved in gang going around beating up tourists and who Greg hit with his Denali. Leila showed the photos to Brass and he released Greg.

They thought that they were out of hot water but then both Greg and Grissom were kidnapped. After tracking them down, Leila went to rescue them by herself. She found them in the basement where she had been held by her kidnapper. Donald came back and, after a lot of talking from Leila, he handed over the key to the chains that bound Greg and Grissom and Leila freed them. But Donald wasn't going to let them go so easily. He ended up shooting Leila in the abdomen. His intend hadn't been to kill Greg to get revenge for his cousin. It was to kill Leila and hurt Greg the same way that he had hurt him when his cousin died. Brass, Sofia and other officers arrived in time to apprehend Donald and save Leila, which Greg was grateful for. He stayed by her side every moment while she was in the hospital. Her being shot had hit him hard and she knew it. He still hadn't fully recovered from it. He refused to touch anywhere near the scar in her abdomen where she had been shot. And she knew it.

Now, Greg was going to do whatever it took to make sure that nothing like that ever happened again.

"Leila, listen to me. No one is going to come after you anymore, I won't allow it. No one will ever hurt you again as long as I have anything to say about it." said Greg.

"No offense honey, but I don't think there's really much you can do. If someone wants to come after me, they're gonna come after me." said Leila.

"Hey, no one is gonna hurt you, not as long as I'm around. I won't allow it." said Greg.

Leila opened her mouth to argue but Greg stopped her by pressing his lips firmly against hers. She moaned in surprise than closed her eyes and kissed back. Time seemed to slow, everyone and everything just disappeared as though it was never there. Leila could feel herself relaxing. Greg had always had this effect on her and she was sure that he knew it, that's why he did it all the time. He could make Leila feel like she was floating on air. It was a few minutes before the two of them pulled apart, breathless.

"Come on, let's go take a shower 'cause we both know we smell since we haven't had barely five minutes to ourselves than I'm going to take you out." said Greg.

"Really? After our shower, are you sure we'll have time to go out?" asked Leila, smirking.

"We'll make time." said Greg, smiling. He grabbed the extra clothes that he and Leila both kept in their lockers than he took Leila by the hand and led her to the shower. He set the clothes down than went to set one of the showers to the right temperature for both of them. He turned back to see Leila standing with her back to him, starting to unbutton her shirt. He walked over and stood behind her, reaching his hands around to move her hands away. "Allow me." he said.

Leila moved her hands away from the buttons on her shirt and letting Greg take over, allowing his fingers to work their magic. She just closed her eyes, resting her hands on his arms and just enjoying the small sensations that Greg's fingers were sending through her body as they gently touched her skin, sending tingling sensation's down her spine. Then she felt his lips touching her neck as he slipped her shirt off and tossed it aside. She leaned her head to the side, exposing her neck better for him.

* * *

Leila and Greg stood underneath the hot shower, holding each other and letting the water flow over their exposed and naked bodies but nothing else mattered to them except that moment and being so close to one another, being able to feel the touch of each other's skin and place soft, gentle kisses whenever they felt needed. They didn't even care if Ecklie walked in and saw them. As long as they were safe, together and happy, that was all that mattered to them.

Leila placed soft, light kisses along Greg's chest as he placed light kisses her shoulder, his hands roaming along her back while she kept hers on the back of his shoulders. If only time could just stop and she and Greg could stay like this forever, it would be the only thing that Leila would want and would make her the happiest woman on earth. And she knew that it would make Greg the happiest man on earth just to have time freeze and spent eternity with her.


	2. Without You, There Is No Me

Leila walked down the halls of the crime lab, heading toward Trace. She had gotten a text message from Hodges a few minutes ago that said that he finally had her results on the fiber she had collected from Alex Richensen. She had been out with Greg at a local diner when she had got the message. She asked Greg to meet up with Sophia at the police station and see if the two of them could get some answers from Victor. He agreed and Leila had dropped him off. She walked into the trace lab where Hodges stood waiting, a cocky grin plastered on his face.

"What do you have for me Hodges?" asked Leila, knowing full well what that grin meant and knew it would inflate his ego, not like it wasn't big enough.

"That fiber that you collected from the Richensen residence is whipcord. It's a strong cotton fabric made of hard-twisted yarns with a diagonal cord or a rib. The weave used for whipcord is a steep-angled twill. But the ribs of whipcord are usually more pronounced, and the filling may be visible between the ribs on the right side. So, did I break the case?" said Hodges.

"No, not even close Hodges. But thanks anyway." said Leila, heading back out of the trace lab. As she started down the corridor, her cell phone rang. She took it out and, upon looking at the caller id, saw that it was Greg. She smiled as she answered it. "Hey baby. Hodges just gave me the results on my fiber. It's whipcord."

_"Typically found in durable outdoor clothing, usually pants and sometimes jackets or in durable workers' clothing such as overalls. And Victor just happened to be wearing such clothing."_ said Greg.

"Okay, why don't you grab some samples, I'll meet you outside and then we'll go search his hotel room." said Leila.

_"Alright, you got it babe."_ said Greg.

"Honey, do me a favor and stop calling me babe. I'm not a talking pig." said Leila, hanging up before Greg could respond. She headed to the parking garage and got in her car, heading toward the police station. She found Greg waiting outside for her and pulled up. He placed his kit in the back than climbed in the passenger seat and she drove toward Victor's hotel in Boulder City at Lake Mead Resort and Marina. "So, what did Victor have to say?"

"What do you think?" asked Greg, looking over at her. "What do all suspects have to say?"

Leila just smiled.

"Give you attitude?" she asked.

"Of course." said Greg.

"Yep, that's my family for you, always have an attitude." said Leila.

"At least I know where you get it from." said Greg.

Leila turned long enough to glare at her husband than turned her attention back to the road.

"You wanna end up in the dog house tonight don't you?" she asked.

"Not especially, no." said Greg.

"You keep pushing it and you will. You're already on thin ice pal." said Leila.

"When is there a time when I'm not?" asked Greg.

"Oh you have your moments dear, but this isn't one of them." said Leila.

Greg just looked at his wife, and smiled.

Leila reached over and took his hand in hers. "I still love you though."

Greg smiled at her again, giving her hand a small squeeze. "I know."

They finally arrived at the Lake Mead Resort and Marina. Leila parked the car and the two of them got out, heading inside. They stopped at the front desk but no one stood behind it. Greg rang the bell and a middle aged woman came from a back room.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm Greg Sanders, this is Leila. We're with the Las Vegas Crime Lab. We need to see Victor Roderiguez's room." said Greg.

"Uh, sure, hold just one second." said the woman before turning and heading back into the back room from where she came, returning a moment later with a book open in her hands and she skimmed through a page. She closed it a minute later and grabbed a key. "Follow me." she said, leading them toward Victor's room. She unlocked the door and opened it, stepping back to allow them to enter.

"Thank you, we'll let you know if we need anything." said Leila, closing the door behind her. She and Greg took out a pair of gloves out of their vests, slipping them out and taking out their flashlights, shining them around the room. "What a mess. Such like a man."

Greg turned and glared at his wife.

"What, it's true. You men don't know how to clean up after yourselves and if you do, you can't keep anything clean for long. What would you guys do without us women around to clean up after your messes?" asked Leila.

"I don't know, live happily without someone to bitch at us all the time?" said Greg.

"Yeah right, you would end up killing each other." said Leila.

Greg just smiled at her than turned back to his work. He opened up the closet and started going through it.

Leila walked over to the bed and went through the duffel bag sitting next to it. It mainly contained clothes and other necessities. Then, underneath everything, she pulled out a gun, a Walther P99 semi-automatic pistol.

"Hey Greg, look what I found. Think it's our murder weapon?" she asked, holding it up.

Greg turned around when his wife said his name.

"Maybe. We'll know once we get it back to lab and have Bobby test it, compare it to the bullet Robbins pulled out of Mr. Richensen." he said.

Leila placed the gun in an evidence bag than returned to searching. She headed into the bathroom and started looking through things in there. There wasn't much other than shampoo, body wash and deodorant. Then she heard her husband's voice from the other room.

"Hey honey, I think I got some blood on a pair of boots in Victor's closet." he said.

Right around that moment, Leila spotted a single spot with what appeared to be a blood drop.

"Same here." she said, taking out a swab and swabbing the blood drop than placing the swab in one of the front pockets of her vest as Greg walked in behind her.

"You think we might possibly have another victim?" he asked.

"Maybe. Or he's a messy cleaner." said Leila. "Hand me the luminol baby."

"Sure thing." said Greg, reaching into his kit and pulling out the bottle of luminol, handing it to her.

Leila sprayed it around the sink but instead of them getting the reaction they wanted or were hoping for, the whole sink glowed completely blue.

"Bleach." said Greg.

"Apparently he's not as dumb as we thought. He probably left the blood and the gun behind on purpose to screw with us." said Leila. She could feel her patience wearing thin, as if she wasn't already frustrated enough.

* * *

Leila and Greg walked toward the ballistics lab after dropping off their blood evidence to Wendy and paying Mandy a visit to see if she could get any fingerprints off of the gun from Victor's hotel room but none turned up so they were hoping that Bobby would be able to tell them something.

"Hey Bobby." greeted Leila as they walked into Ballistics.

"Oh hey Leila, hey Greg. What can I do for you?" asked Bobby.

Greg handed the gun to Bobby.

"We need you see if the bullet from Alex Richensen came from this gun." he said.

"Alrighty, sure thing." said Bobby.

Greg and Leila left so that Bobby could work in peace and headed into the break room to relax for a bit, if they could. Leila got herself a soda, not sure she could handle anymore coffee, than plopped down on the couch while Greg got a cup of coffee than sat down next to Leila, letting her lay her head on his shoulder.

"Don't fall asleep now. By the time you do, we'll just have to get right back to work." said Greg.

"I know, I know, don't remind me." said Leila, groaning but closing her eyes anyway.

And right at that moment, Grissom walked into the break room with a file folder in one hand. He spotted Leila and Greg sitting comfortably on the couch, trying to relax, Leila with her head resting on Greg's shoulder and her eyes closed.

"Hey, Leila, can I borrow you for a minute?" he asked, disturbing Leila and making her snap back to reality.

Leila lifted her head to glare at her husband.

"What?!" asked Greg.

"See what you did? You jinxed us. Way to go." said Leila, sitting up.

"Yeah but you still love me." said Greg.

"Yeah, and sometimes I wonder why." said Leila, giving Greg a quick kiss before getting up and following Grissom. "What do you want Gil?" she asked him.

"Well, first of all, how's your and Greg's case going?" asked Grissom.

"Fine, I guess. Waiting for Bobby to get ballistics back on the gun we found in Victor's room and Wendy to get results on the blood Greg and I found. Now, tell me what you wanted and quit trying to stall. I'm way too tired for your tactics." said Leila.

"Well, your cousin Victor, apparently the FBI has been investigating him for the past few months. I just got a e-mail from them." said Grissom, handing the folder to Leila.

"Oh wonderful. We just can't get enough of them can we." said Leila.

"There's more. Apparently Victor and Leda's father, your uncle and your father's brother, he may still be alive." said Grissom.

Leila was speechless. She couldn't believe. She had been told that her uncle, that her father's brother had died in a car accident just shortly after Leda was born. Now she was coming to discover that that was possibly a lie. First Speed, now her uncle. Without a word, she turned and stomped back into the break room and practically threw herself into one of the chairs, throwing the folder onto the table and putting her head in her hands.

"Leila? Honey what's wrong?" asked Greg, concerned as he got up and moved to sit down next to his wife.

Leila pushed the folder over to him. He opened it up and read it than he gave the same expression Leila had. He wasn't sure what he could say to her.

"Is my whole entire life just one, big lie? Just one big, fat, complete lie?" asked Leila, her voice scratchy as though she was about ready to cry.

"No, it's not." said Greg.

"Oh yeah. And what part of it isn't a lie? What part is true?" asked Leila, lifting her head and looking at her husband.

"Me. Along with the rest of the team. You'll always have us, you'll always have me. If that isn't truth, I don't know what is." said Greg.

Leila thought for a moment than smiled. She nodded, knowing that she couldn't argue with that. Greg and the team, among others in the lab, were the one constant truth in her life. They never lied to her and they never kept any secrets. She wished that she hadn't kept any secrets from them but she had kept one. About four, five years ago, Leila had been to Vegas under a different identity that the FBI had given her. Her name had been Sylvia Johnson and she was a DNA intern around the same time that Greg was involved in the lab explosion. Out of everyone in the lab, she had been there for him the most. She grew so close to him that she wanted to tell him the truth about who she really was but she was too scared of what he might think of her after she had lied to him the whole time. She had stayed in Vegas for two, almost three years with her and Greg growing close that they were almost like brother and sister before she took off to Miami after a mysterious letter she got. She didn't say goodbye to anyone, only leaving a letter for Greg in his locker the night she left.

"You're right. You're right. I don't know I'd do without you, any of you. I made one of the biggest mistakes of life years ago. I should have told you the truth, I should have told all of you the truth. I made that mistake once, I'm not gonna make it again. I ran when I should have fought back, I kept running until I ran back here and you showed me that I had to quit running, fight for the people I cared about. I didn't want to run anymore, I was tired of running. I lost too much running, I couldn't lose anymore. I don't wanna run now, I don't wanna run anymore. I can't." said Leila, her voice about to crack.

"Hey hey, it's okay. You still got me, you still got me." said Greg, pulling his wife into his arms and holding her tight.

Leila held onto her husband, burying her face in his shoulder.

"I don't know what I'd do without you." she said.


	3. You Can't Change the Past

Leila walked into the diner where her husband and their friends were sitting. They came here together all the time and usually she came with Greg but yesterday was her day off so she had went out with some friends but there was one problem. She couldn't remember most of the night but she also didn't remember drinking that much, she usually didn't. She wasn't a big drinker. She had stopped by the lab and asked Henry to run some tests, just to be safe.

Right then, as she walked in, Grissom looked up and saw her.

"Hey, there you are. We were starting to worry." he said.

"Sorry, I guess the girls and I had a long night last night." said Leila as she sat down next to Greg.

"Hangover?" asked Nick.

"You have no idea." said Leila.

They all talked, laughed and joked as they ate and Leila made the best of it despite her pounding head. She was going to stop by the drug store and get some aspirin. When the pounding in her head became too much that she felt like her head was going to split in two, she set down some money for her food and moved to stand up.

"You leaving us already Leila?" asked Warrick.

"Yeah, I need to stop and get some aspirin before my head splits in two." said Leila.

"Be careful baby." said Greg.

"I will. I'll see you later after shift." said Leila, since today was his day off. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. "I'll see you guys at the lab." she told Grissom, Sara, Catherine, Nick and Warrick before heading out. She stopped at a drug store near the lab and got a bottle of aspirin and a bottle of water. She took a couple than headed to the lab. She could tell this already wasn't going to be a good day.

* * *

Leila walked into her and Greg's apartment, tossing her keys, cell phone and gun on the table by the door than headed into the kitchen where she found Greg, cooking. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Hey baby." said Greg.

"Hey. Smells great in here." said Leila.

"Yeah I figured you'd be hungry when you got off." said Greg.

"I'm starving. I had to use my lunch break to shower 'cause Grissom sent me dumpster diving." said Leila.

"Oh those are always fun." said Greg sarcastically.

"Yeah. Apparently someone found a body in a dumpster. Everyone else was already at a scene but I had just finished one so, guess who got stuck with it? But when I got there, there was no body. I call Grissom to tell him. Bet you can guess what he said." said Leila as they both made a plate and sat down to eat.

"'Still have to collect and verify the evidence.'" said Greg.

"So I do. I was there sifting through garbage for almost eight hours. Turns out that it was just some drunk that thought that the dumpster would be a good place to sleep it off. I'm gonna get Grissom for this." said Leila as they ate.

Greg burst out laughing.

"I'm glad you think it's funny." said Leila.

Greg couldn't stop laughing, no matter how hard he tried.

"Ha ha. Go ahead, laugh it up. You can sleep on the couch tonight." said Leila, getting up, walking over to the sink and rinsing off her plate, placing it in the sink before heading into the bedroom to change. She had just slipped her jeans and shirt off when she felt Greg's wrap around her waist from behind.

"Let me make it up to you." he said, kissing her neck.

Leila tilted her head to the side, giving him better access as he moved down to her shoulder than back up to her neck, undoing the clasp of her and slipping it off.

--

Leila was awakened by a knocking sound. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes before sitting up and realizing that the knocking was coming from the front door. She threw on her robe and went to answer it. On the other side stood some guy she didn't know and hadn't seen before.

"Can I help you?" she asked, confused.

"What, you don't remember me? My name's Derek, I was one of the guys with you and your lady friend's last night." he said.

Leila could only look on, still confused.

"I would have thought that after the good time I gave you last night you would remember me." said Derek.

This guy was starting to give Leila chills and she grew nervous.

"Look, I don't know who you are but you need to leave now." she said.

"Well maybe this will help refresh your memory." said Derek before leaning toward her to kiss her.

Leila tried to push him away but he was stronger.

Greg walked out of the bedroom at that moment in time to see some guy trying to kiss his wife and her trying to push him away. He was at the door and pushing the guy away in a flash.

"What the hell are you doing?! Who the hell do you think you are?! I'm married, happily married." said Leila.

Derek had gotten in Greg's face after Greg had pushed him away from Leila and now they were glaring daggers at each other.

"Keep your hands off my wife." said Greg.

"Or what? What are you gonna do? Huh pretty boy?" asked Derek, shoving Greg back.

Greg made a move to go after him but Leila stopped him, holding him back by the arms.

"No, Greg honey, just let it go. He's not worth it. He's just trying to get a rise out of you." she said, standing between Greg and Derek to prevent any problems for her and Greg since they were members of law enforcement. She started guiding Greg back inside.

"Yeah, that's right, let your little wifey fight you battles for you. You're a worthless excuse for a man." said Derek.

"Leave now, before I call the cops." said Leila, closing the door before he could retort.

"Who was that?" asked Greg, although it sounded more like a demand.

"I don't know." said Leila.

Greg snorted, obviously not believing her.

"Honestly, I don't know who the hell he was. I can't even remember what I did last night." said Leila as she plopped down on the couch.

"Then why was he trying to kiss you?" asked Greg.

"I swear, I don't know." said Leila.

"Yeah, well, he sure as hell did. What'd you do, pick him up at some bar?" asked Greg.

"No I didn't." said Leila.

"How can you be sure if you can't even remember what you did last night? 'Cause you can't be." said Greg.

"You're blowing this out of proportion." said Leila.

"Am I? 'Cause God knows it wouldn't be the first time you cheated on me." said Greg.

"I didn't cheat on you last night!" yelled Leila, feeling a bit frustrated. She was a little frustrated that Greg wouldn't believe her but more so at the fact that she couldn't remember last night.

"Well we can't really be sure of that, now can we? First you come to Vegas pretending to be someone else and then, when I'm starting to fall for you, you take off only leaving behind a note because you didn't have the guts to do it in person. Then when you come back, you don't bother telling me the truth about why you left or even who you were. You don't even tell me about your father 'til he tries to kill me. Then you cheat on me in Miami with your old boyfriend. What else am I gonna find out that I don't know about Leila? I'm sure there are more secrets that you haven't told me." said Greg.

"There's no more secrets. There's nothing else that I haven't told you." said Leila.

"I wish I could truly believe that. I thought that when we got remarried, we would be able to start over on a clean slate. But I guess I was wrong." said Greg.

"Don't do this Greg, please don't do this to me now." said Leila.

"I didn't do this Leila. I didn't create our relationship around a bunch of lies and secrets. I opened up my heart and soul to you. The least you could have done was be honest with me. You did this, not me." said Greg.

"Fine. If that's the way you feel, if you think that our relationship was created around nothing but secrets than fine. I've tried to make you happy, I've done nothing but love you. Yes I've had a couple secrets. I didn't tell you about me father because it was my problem, not yours and I thought I could handle it. I didn't want to get you involved and I didn't want to see you get hurt. Yes, you're right, I should have told you years ago about who I really was instead of pretending to someone I wasn't. But you **are** the reason I came back and the only reason I keep coming back. I'm drawn to you and I can't escape it, I don't want to. I love you and there is nothing or anyone that can change that." said Leila.

"And what about you cheating on me in Miami?" asked Greg.

"I've explained myself on that once, I shouldn't have to do it again." said Leila.

"Then there's nothing else to say." said Greg.

"Fine, But you had secrets too Greg. You never once told me about Demetrius James. I had to find out from Archie after finding out his cousin was one of the men who kidnapped me. And I didn't get mad about it, I let it slide because I understood, because we were already having problems and I wasn't about to make things worse. I tried to make things better between us and I guess I was the only one. But it takes two people to create a relationship and make it work, only takes one to ruin it." said Leila. She than headed into the bedroom, grabbing a bag out of the closet and starting to throw clothes in it until she couldn't fit any more.

"So that's it, you're gonna leave just like that?" asked Greg from his spot in the doorway.

"'You did this, not me', remember? Easy to blame me with the mistakes I've made with us. But can you tell me who really ruined this relationship? I tried to reconcile with you after Tim, you're the one who hit me with divorce papers. I explained to you why I had changed my identity and you said you forgave me. Guess you can't really forgive someone you don't trust. So tell me Greg, which one of us really ruined this relationship? Where does the blame lie? Me? You? Or both of us?" asked Leila.

Greg said nothing. He couldn't think of anything to say.

"How's it feel Greg? How does it feel not knowing what to say? Now you know how I feel six out of ten times when I wanna tell you something but I didn't know how." said Leila before slinging the bag over her shoulder and walking toward the door. She paused for a moment as she opened it. "I'm sorry things couldn't be different. I'm sorry I can't change the past and fix the mistakes that I've made. I thought they had brought us closer, but I guess **I** was wrong." And with that, she walked out.


	4. The Memories We Made, And Could've Made

Leila was now staying in a motel with only her cousin Leda to keep her company. And every now and then her cousin would run off somewhere and she had no idea where. She guessed it was to see her brother her jail because Leda didn't really know anyone in Vegas apart from her, Victor and Greg, who she just met. She had yet to meet the rest of the team. Leila wasn't sure how long she could go on without Greg. She hated being separated from him like this but she wasn't going to continue living with him if he wasn't going to trust her. She didn't need that. True, she had given him a few reasons why he shouldn't but she had thought they had gotten passed those issues. He had told her that he had forgiven her but obviously he really hasn't.

As she headed into the lab for her shift, Leila barely acknowledged any of her friends as she passed them in the hall. They all gave her a concerned look but she didn't really notice. She knew they would be asking questions later. She walked into the break room to get a cup of coffee to keep her awake since she barely got any sleep at all last night 'cause she missed Greg. When she walked in, she saw none other than Greg himself, already standing in front of the coffee pot and pouring himself a cup. She stopped when she saw him, standing in front of the door. He had his back to her and didn't appear to even have noticed her. She could only stand there like an idiot, wondering if he was still upset with her like he was last night.

"Are you gonna get your coffee or you just gonna stand there blocking the doorway?" asked Greg suddenly, startling her. He turned around and looked at her before grabbing two mugs that had been sitting in front of him, walking over and handing one of them to Leila.

"Thought you were pissed at me?" asked Leila, taking the mug from him feeling slightly confused.

"I'm not that pissed, not anymore." said Greg, taking a sip of his coffee as he walked over to the table and sat down.

"Well you sure seemed pretty pissed at me last night." said Leila, walking over and taking her usual seat next to him.

"Leila, please, don't bring that up right now. Let's not discuss that right now." said Greg.

"Yeah, right, sorry." said Leila. She looked away from him and rubbed her eyes.

"You alright?" asked Greg.

"Yeah, I just didn't really sleep well last night." said Leila.

"I'm sorry." said Greg, feeling guilty 'cause he knew that he was the reason she didn't get much sleep last night.

"You don't have to apologize Greg." said Leila.

"Yes I do, especially after the way that I acted last night. I had no right to yell at you the way I did. I just felt so jealous and angry when I saw that guy trying to kiss you that I took it out on you and I shouldn't've." said Greg.

"Greg, it's okay, really. Besides, you were right. We got remarried too soon. You can't have a relationship with someone you don't trust and it's obvious that you don't trust me. You wouldn't have gotten so angry or jealous with me if you did." said Leila.

Greg said nothing. He didn't really have anything to say.

Leila got up and walked out. She felt ready to cry and she wasn't going to let him see her like this. She didn't want anyone to see her like this now.

* * *

The days went by but they seemed to be going at an agonizingly slow pace, at least for Leila and Greg it seemed that one. They acted civil to each other while they were at work but other than that, they ignored each other. They didn't work on scenes together much anymore, not unless Grissom asked them to. The rest of the team knew that the two of them were having problems but they weren't sure what until Leila told them but asked them not to say anything to Greg about it since it was between the two of them.

Eventually things seemed to get back to normal with everyone. Greg and Leila would talk to each other, joke and laugh, but it wasn't like they usually did. Something had changed between the two of them and everyone could see it. Leila had brought her cousin Leda around the lab a few times and let her meet the rest of the team. Leda seemed to hang around Nick a lot but Leila didn't really think anything of it. She didn't really want to. Then, one day, something happened that no one could have seen coming.

Leila was sitting in the layout room going over some of her evidence in a recent case, her ear buds in and her iPod blaring her favorite music. She could hear nothing that was going on around her, which she had intended upon. She had wanted to shut everything and everyone out and she had done that. She didn't even notice the door to the layout room open and close again and the lock click into place as someone walked in. The person walked around behind her, still remaining unnoticed until they reached over and paused the music on her iPod. She quickly turned around to see who it was and relaxed when she saw that it was just her cousin.

"Geez, Leda, don't you know that it's dangerous to be sneaking up on people like that? What're you doing here anyway?" asked Leila as she took out her ear buds and set them down with her iPod on the table.

"I just came to let you know that I won't be back at the motel tonight, or tomorrow night either." said Leda.

"And why is that?" asked Leila.

"I'm gonna be staying with Nick." said Leda.

"I knew there was something going on between you two. I'm gonna have to have a talk with that Stokes." said Leila.

"Leila, come on, please don't do that. You embarrass me every time you do that." said Leda.

"That's my job as your cousin. Someone has to." said Leila.

"Right. Whatever you say dear cousin." said Leda.

Leila went to say something but the fire alarms going off made her stop.

"Come on, we gotta get out of here." she said, leading her cousin out of the layout room and toward the nearest exit with everyone else. As they were passing the locker room, someone reached out and grabbed her, pulling her in shutting the door and locking it, grabbing her gun from it's place in the holster on her hip. She tried to yell for help but no one could hear her over the fire alarm.

Once it everything got quiet and the building was empty, the person that had grabbed her and was currently holding her hostage finally spoke and she immediately recognized his voice.

"Well well, we meet again my little beauty." said Derek.

"What do you want?" Leila demanded. She knew she wasn't in much of a position to be demanding anything but right now, she didn't care.

"Just you." said Derek.

--

Grissom went around the crowd of people gathered outside the crime lab, making sure everyone was out and safe. He got his team gathered while he had Wendy and Hodges see if all the other lab techs and other workers made it out. As the team gathered around him, he saw they were all there except for one.

"Where's Leila?" asked Grissom.

"I don't know, I haven't seen her since she went into the layout room." said Nick.

"She's gotta be here somewhere. We should all spread out and look for her." suggested Catherine, trying to keep everyone positive.

Just then, they all spotted Leila's cousin running toward them.

"Leila's still inside! Someone grabbed her and pulled her into the locker room." she said as she stopped in front of them.

"Did you get a look at who it was Leda?" asked Sara.

"No. People were pushing me, I couldn't get a good look. I'm really sorry." said Leda.

"You have nothing to be sorry about Leda, it's not your fault." said Grissom.

"So what are we gonna do?" asked Greg. Even though him and Leila hadn't been on the best of terms lately he still cared a lot about her and wanted her to be safe.

Grissom opened his mouth to speak but was cut off when a gunshot suddenly rang out from inside and everyone turned their attention back to the lab that they had just walked out of.

"Oh my God." was all that Catherine could say.

'_Please God, please please let her be okay.'_ thought Greg, silently praying for Leila's safety.

--

Leila ran down the hall out of the locker room. She had managed to fight Derek off of her and make her run for it. That's when he had shot at her and she was sure everyone outside had heard it. She had to come up with a plan and fast. That's when a thought suddenly hit her as she ran into the DNA lab. She grabbed some chemicals, walked over to the fume hood, turned on the hot plate as high as it went and set the combustible chemicals on top, closing the fume hood than waited. She wanted to lure Derek in there and in front the fume hood so he could take the most of the blast, if not all of it. And it worked as she saw Derek head her way. He tried to hit her but she blocked it and wrestled with him, maneuvering him into position in front of the fume hood. She held him there and waited, only having to wait a few seconds before the hot plate caused the chemicals to blow, sending the two of them flying. Leila flew backwards through the glass wall behind her and hit the floor, rolling a couple times as she hit. Derek landed face down a few feet away.

Once it was safe enough, Leila slowly and carefully got up, not wanting to hurt herself on any of the glass or depri laying everywhere as she headed out of the lab. She was heading through the lobby when Grissom, Brass, Nick and Warrick ran over to her.

"Leila, oh God. Are you okay?" asked Grissom.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." said Leila before she continued walking, heading outside. She managed to dodge Sara and Catherine as she walked away from the lab. She than spotted Greg standing a few feet away, watching her so she walked over to him. "Hey." she said.

"Hey. I'm really glad that you're okay." said Greg.

"Yeah, I uh kinda used you for inspiration." said Leila with a small smile. She had been there, as Silvia Johnson, the day of the lab explosion.

Greg smiled slightly as well but said nothing.

"Can we talk?" asked Leila.

"Why? We have nothing else to say to each other." said Greg as he started to walk away but Leila's voice made him stop.

"Come on Greg, don't act like this. You're being childish. You can't stand there and act like you don't miss at all or that you don't want me back." she said.

"Actually, I don't." said Greg.

Leila felt like someone had just plunged a knife into her chest but not just anyone, Greg had.

Right then, some strange woman that Leila didn't know walked over to Greg and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Everything okay babe?" she asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine." said Greg before he leaned over and kissed her.

Leila now didn't just feel like someone had stuck a knife in her chest, she felt her heart shatter as she watched Greg, her husband, kiss this strange girl in front of her like he had no care in the world and she had to fight back the tears. She could feel them well up in her eyes and quickly turned and walked away before Greg could see. She wasn't sure how but she managed to make it to the locker room before she collapsed in tears, sliding down the lockers to the floor. She didn't know how long she was in there when Catherine walked in.

"Leila? What's wrong? What happened?" she asked when she saw the tears running down Leila's face.

"Greg has a new girlfriend." said Leila once she managed to calm herself enough.

"What? When the hell did this happen?" asked Catherine, sitting down next to Leila.

"I don't know. We had that huge fight a few days ago and then, after the explosion and I had gone outside, I was talking to him when this girl, some bimbo walks over to him and putting her arm around him like she owns him than he starts kissing her." said Leila.

"In front of you? Why would he do such a thing? That's not like the Greg that I know." said Catherine.

"I don't know. He's changed so much Catherine. I don't even think I know who he is anymore. I don't know what to do. I mean, I'm staying in a motel for crying out loud." said Leila.

"You can come stay with me. I'm gonna let Greg treat you like this, you don't deserve it." said Catherine.

"Apparently Greg thinks differently. He thinks that I do." said Leila.

"What would make him think that?" asked Catherine.

"The fact that I didn't tell him about my dad for so long for one." said Leila.

"You told us all at the same time. He wasn't the only one left in the dark. No offense." said Catherine.

"None taken. Then there's the fact that I cheated on him with Tim." said Leila.

"You were overflowing with emotions. What'd he expect? He's the one that divorced you when you tried to apologize and make it up to him." said Catherine.

"And when the FBI gave me my new identity so I could hide from my father and I didn't tell him the truth." said Leila.

"He wasn't the only one who didn't know about it. Noe of us knew until we were told." said Catherine.

"Glad to see that someone understands and doesn't hold those mistakes against me." said Leila.

"Hey, you've been a good friend to all of us these past few years. It's the least that I can do. Besides, the important thing is that you learn from them. And they brought you and Greg even closer than you already were, or so we all thought." said Catherine.

"Yeah, so did I. Does he even still love me anymore Cath? I know that I still love him but I don't know if he even still loves me." said Leila.

"Of course he does. He's just confused right now. He'll come around eventually. I know he misses you very much." said Catherine.

"He told me that he doesn't miss me and he doesn't love me anymore, just before he kissed that girl." said Leila.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. I don't know why Greg is acting like this all of a sudden. It's not like him." said Catherine.

Right then, as if on que, Greg walked into the locker room and bypassed the women to his locker. Both got up and watched him as he opened his locker than Catherine left Leila and Greg alone in that locker room. Leila walked over to her locker, which was right next to Greg's, and opened it. She placed her iPod inside, wanting to say something to him but she didn't know what so she said the first thing she could think of.

"Who was that girl you were kissing?" she asked as calmly as she could.

"Her name's Shellie. I met her at the bar Monday after shift." said Greg.

"You're picking someone, some girl that you've only known for four days over someone you've known for four years." said Leila.

"Look, Leila..." started Greg.

"No, Greg, you don't have to explain anything. I understand." said Leila.

Just then, they heard music playing and both immediately recognized it.

_ I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me, I still feel your touch in my dream, Forgive me my weakness but I don't know why, Without you it's hard to survive..._

Both of them turned to see Sara and Catherine standing in the doorway holding a stereo in their hands, staring in the locker room at the two of them.

"Guys, please, I appreciate what you're trying to do but a little privacy." said Leila.

Catherine and Sara nodded, turning off the stereo and walking out of the locker room, closing the door behind them.

"Greg, look, I don't wanna fight. But I can't lie about how hurt I am right now when I saw you kiss that girl. And I can't really be mad either. You were right, well we both were. The blame lies with both of us. The only difference is that I actually felt bad, no I felt terrible when I had an affair with Tim. You kissed Shellie in front of me like you had no care in the world about how I would feel. It broke my heart and you acted like you didn't care." said Leila.

Greg said nothing and watched as Leila closed her locker and sat down on the bench.

"But this has made me realize something. We made a mistake in getting remarried so soon. I mean, we can't be together if you don't trust me. I think we moved too fast. With everything that was going on, we were leaning on each other and it felt like everything was normal again but it's not. Too much has changed between us. It'll take a lot for things to be normal again for us, if they ever are." said Leila.

Greg moved to sit down in front of her, gently taking her hand in his.

"I'm sorry I've acted like such a jerk." he said.

"It's okay, maybe time apart with be good for us right now." said Leila.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. We should've worked harder at fixing the problems in our relationship instead of rushing in to getting remarried." said Greg.

"We were scared. You were afraid of losing me and I was afraid of losing you." said Leila.

"I almost did. I had never felt so afraid in my entire life." said Greg.

"I'm still here though. It'll take more than a bullet to stop me." said Leila, smiling, trying to lighten the mood.

Greg returned the smile than pulled her into his arms.

Leila rested her back against his chest and held onto his arms as he held her.

"I'd rather have you as a friend than not have you in my life at all. I can't live without you." she said.

Greg tightened his hold on her but not painfully so.

"I wish that things could go back to the way they used to be." he said.

"But it's not that easy." said Leila.

"Yeah. I'm sorry Leila." said Greg.

"Me too." said Leila. She sat up, paused for a moment than stood up to leave, pausing in the doorway. "I'll be staying with Catherine for awhile, in case you need me. And by the way, I was drugged. I had Henry run a drug panel on my blood before I showed up at the diner that day. I didn't cheat on you." With that, she turned and left, not looking back because it would only hurt too much.

_ Time, Sometimes The Time Just Slips Away, And You're Left With Yesterday, Left With The Memories  
I, I'll Always Think Of You And Smile, And Be Happy For The Time I Had You With Me  
Though We Go Our Separate Ways, I Won't Forget So Don't Forget, The Memories We Made_

_Please Remember, Please Remember, When I Was There For You, And You Were There For Me  
Please Remember, Our Time Together, When Time Was Yours And Mine, And We Were Wild And Free  
Please Remember Please Remember Me_

_Good-Bye, There's Just No Sadder Word To Say, And It's Sad To Walk Away, With Just The Memories  
Who's To Know What Might Have Been, We Leave Behind A Life And Time, We'll Never Know Again_

_Please Remember, Please Remember, When I Was There For You, And You Were There For Me, And Remember Please Remember Me_

_Please Remember, Please Remember, When I Was There For You, And You Were There For Me  
Please Remember, Our Time Together, When Time Was Yours And Mine, And We Were Wild And Free  
Then Remember Please Remember Me_

_And How We Laughed, And How We Smiled, And How This World Was Yours And Mine, And How No Dream Was Out Of Reach, I Stood By You, You Stood By Me  
We Took Each Day And Made It Shine, We Wrote Our Names Across The Sky, We Ran So Fast We Ran So Free, And I Had You And You Had Me, Please Remember, Please remember...  
_


	5. What Hurts the Most

Greg sat alone inside his apartment. It had been at least a couple weeks since him and Leila had had their big fight and she packed her stuff and left, choosing to stay with Catherine instead. He didn't even remember what had originally caused the fight but that wasn't surprising. He had been going out every night after shift, usually coming home with a girl or two. He knew his behavior was getting out of control but he didn't care. He didn't care about anything anymore except that he still loved Leila but he didn't see a future for them anymore. He wouldn't even speak to her anymore. He didn't even care if he died. He walked into his kitchen and grabbed a bottle of whiskey off the top of the fridge, pausing to look at the picture of him and Leila that was of their first date that he couldn't take down, no matter how mad he was at her. He quickly turned away and headed towards his bedroom, stumbling as he went and opening the bottle, taking a swig. It was all he could do to try and forget her, forget the pain and the sorrow he was in because of her.

Why? Why did he have to hurt so much because of her? Why did she have to keep hurting him? She had said that she loved him but how could he even believe that anymore if she kept on hurting him? And the worst part was that he kept letting her do this to him. He kept letting her hurt him, he chose to stay by her side through the bad situations because he had loved her and wanted to protect her. Now he realized that he had been a fool to love her and try to protect her. Now all he could do was try and drink his pain away.

Everywhere he looked, no matter where he went, it all reminded him of her and the time that they had shared together. He wished that he could forget, that it would all go away but he knew better. He knew that it would never go away. The odds of Leila coming back to him now were not in his favor and he knew that he had to face that. He had said some things that had clearly hit her hard and cut her deeply. How would she be able to forgive him? Hell, how could he even forgive himself? He watched her pack her stuff, watched her walk out the door, watched her walk out of his life and watched her walk away with even trying to stop her. It was harder and harder everyday for him to get up out of bed or even go to work. He wished he could take it all back and that he could tell her the things he really wanted to say and needed her to hear but it was too late for that and he knew it. And that's what hurt the most. Being so close to her, having so much he wanted to say but instead he let her turn around and walk away.

Unsteadily, he got up, walked over to the stereo and the first song playing was on one of the last stations that Leila had been listening to the day she left and it seemed to fit how he was feeling perfectly so he left it, even though it wasn't his normal choice of music.

_I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house, That don't bother me, I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out, I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while, Even though going on with you gone still upsets me, There are days every now and again I pretend I'm ok, But that's not what gets me_

_What hurts the most, Was being so close, And having so much to say, And watching you walk away, And never knowing, What could have been, And not seeing that loving you, Is what I was tryin' to do_

_It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go, But I'm doin' It, It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone, Still Harder, Getting up, getting dressed, livin' with this regret, But I know if I could do it over, I would trade give away all the words that I saved in my heart, That I left unspoken_

_What hurts the most, Is being so close, And having so much to say, And watching you walk away, And never knowing, What could have been, And not seeing that loving you, Is what I was trying to do_

_What hurts the most, Is being so close, And having so much to say, And watching you walk away, And never knowing, What could have been, And not seeing that loving you, Is what I was trying to do_

_Not seeing that loving you,That's what I was trying to do_

As he sat back down on the bed with the now almost empty bottle in his hand, Greg could feel the tears approaching and tried to fight them away. He finished off the bottle than tossed it on the floor. He suddenly started feeling woozy and could barely hold himself upright on the bed. He started to get up off the bed to go into the bathroom to splash some water on his face only to have dizziness kick in. Somehow he managed to stay on his feet as he made his way to the bathroom, stumbling the whole way. He stood over the sink, ran some cold water and splashing it on his face. He stood looking at himself in the mirror for minute but it wasn't even him. He didn't even recognize himself anymore. This just made him angrier and he smashed the mirror with his hand before heading back into the bedroom and collapsed on the bed. The last thing he heard before he passed out was the sound of his phone ringing but his body wouldn't respond and his eyes became too heavy to keep open. He could feel the room spinning and his head pounded. He tried to lift his arm but it was too heavy. His eyelids grew heavy. He couldn't hold them open anymore and he gave in to the darkness.

_She put him out like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette_

_She broke his heart he spent his whole life tryin' to forget_

_We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time_

_But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind_

_Until the night_

_He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger_

_And finally drank away her memory_

_Life is short but this time it was bigger_

_Than the strength he had to get up off his knees_

_We found him with his face down in the pillow_

_With a note that said I'll love her till I die_

_And when we buried him beneath the willow_

_The angels sang a whiskey lullaby_

Leila was walking down the hall of the lab, preparing to head home. She had just finished a double shift and was ready to go home and get some sleep, not that she would really be getting any. When she would try, she was plagued with dreams about Greg, about the time they had shared together. It just made her hurt worse. Catherine was the first to offer her a place to stay when the rest of the team learned about her and Greg and she gladly accepted, afraid to be around Greg but also afraid to be alone, scared that she would end up doing something stupid if she was left alone. She was almost in the locker room when she heard someone call her name. She turned to see her boss and Godfather coming toward her.

"Leila, do you still have the key to Greg's apartment? He won't answer his cell or house phone. I'm worried. He hasn't been himself lately and Nick said that the other day he could swear that he smelled alcohol on his breath, whiskey if he wasn't mistaken." said Grissom.

"Whiskey? That's not like him. Greg doesn't even like whiskey. I'll grab Catherine and we'll run by his place, see what's going on." said Leila, not sure she could go alone.

"Actually Catherine's at a scene but I'm pretty sure that Nick just finished one. Take him. I'll tell him to meet you outside." said Grissom.

"Alright." said Leila, walking over to her locker to get her jacket as Grissom left. She opened her locker, grabbed her jacket than closed it and slid on her jacket as she headed out to the parking lot where Nick was waiting. "You drive." she said.

"Why? Where we going? Griss just told me I had to meet you out here. Don't tell me we have another case." said Nick.

"No. Gil's worried about Greg. He's not answering either phone and I told him I'd check on him since I still have a key but I didn't wanna go alone." said Leila.

"Alright." said Nick as they got in his truck and he drove them toward Greg's.

When they reached Greg's apartment complex, Leila was the first out as Nick followed. When they reached his apartment, Leila used her key to unlock the door and they walked in. The whole apartment was a mess, like it hadn't been cleaned in weeks.

"Okay, now **I'm** starting to worry. This really isn't like Greg. He always kept his place clean." said Leila.

"I know. Me too." said Nick. He headed towards the kitchen while Leila headed into the bathroom.

She nearly gasped at the sight of the shattered mirror and the blood on some of the fragments.

"Nick. Nick, come in here quick. You should see this." she yelled out.

Nick was in the bathroom in seconds and his eyes too fell on the broken mirror and drops of blood.

"You don't think he...?" She couldn't finish it, she couldn't say it. She didn't even want to think about the possibility.

"Normally, I would say no, that he could never do such a thing. But here lately." said Nick.

Leila said nothing before she turned and headed towards the bedroom, afraid of what she would find but she had to see, she had to know. She had to know if he was okay or not, no matter what she found. She placed her hand on the door and hesitated. She could hear the stereo on on the other of the door. She pulled herself together and pushed open the door. What she saw when it opened made her blood run cold. She could see Greg lying face up on the bed and she could tell that he wasn't breathing. There was no rise and fall of his chest and she saw the empty whiskey bottle on the floor. She quickly ran over to the bed and checked for a pulse, only to find none.

"Nick! Nick, call for an ambulance!" she yelled through the apartment, quickly beginning CPR to try and revive Greg. She had no idea how long he hadn't been breathing but she wasn't going to give up. She wasn't about to let him go.

Nick came running into the bedroom after hearing Leila's desperate yell to see her performing CPR on his friend.

"Oh God, no G." he said before taking out his cell phone and calling for the paramedics.

Leila continued to try and revive what was once her husband but she wasn't sure if she knew him anymore. He wasn't the same man that she fallen in love with.

"Come on Greg, breath." she pleaded. "Please baby, breath. You gotta breath." She breathed into him one more time before she finally got a response from him. As soon as she took her mouth away, he started coughing and breathing on his own but he didn't open his eyes. "That's it, that's it Greg. Keep breathing, don't give up." she encouraged, hoping that he would listen.

Once the paramedics arrived, they quickly stabilized Greg and took him to the ambulance. Leila rode with him while Nick went to get the others than they were going to meet up with Leila at the hospital. She held his hand the whole way, wanting him to know she was there and that she wanted him to stay with her, that she didn't want to lose him. At the hospital, she was forced to let go of his hand and watch as they took him away. She told the doctors that she wanted them to do a full drug panel. She wanted to know if he had taken anything to almost kill himself. She sat in the waiting room as she waited for the others, as she waited for news about Greg's condition. She was hoping and praying that he would make it. She didn't want him to die.

Right then, the rest of the team came into the waiting room. She knew that they would be wanting answers that she wasn't even sure that she could give.

"Have you heard anything yet?" asked Sara.

"No, no nothing yet." said Leila. She looked down at the floor, not really wanting to answer anymore questions.

She was saved from having to do so as the doctor came out and headed over to stand in front of them, all of them looking at him expectantly.

"Mr. Sanders is stable but he's still unconscious. He had high levels of alcohol in his system and his liver is almost shot. He's a very lucky man. If you hadn't found him when you did, he most likely wouldn't have made it at all." said the doctor.

"Can we see him?" asked Catherine.

"I'm afraid that I can only permit one person to see him. The rest of you will have to wait until tomorrow." said the doctor.

"Leila, you should stay with him. He trusts you more and he really needs you right now." said Sara.

Leila just nodded, not really feeling like arguing. She followed the doctor back to Greg's room and walked in, nearly bursting into tears at the sight of him laying in the hospital bed, hooked up to a heart monitor to keep an eye on his heart rythym as he remained in deep sleep. She held herself together as she walked over, pulled a chair up to his bedside and sitting down, taking his hand in hers.

"I'm here Greg. I won't leave you, not this time. I don't know if you can hear me or not but I hope you can. There is so much that I need to say to you right now and I'm not even sure where to start. I do know that I need to you to make it through this. I blame myself for this. Maybe if I hadn't left, if I had stayed with you than this might never have happened. I am so sorry. I can't even expression how sorry I am right now. I just need you to pull through this and hopefully we can talk and find some way through all of this. I hope we can 'cause I don't want to see you like this. I know that you're hurting, and I'm hurting too. I'd do almost anything to make it stop, even temporarily but I know that you're the only one that can really make the pain go away. I need you Greg, more than ever. Please, don't give up. Don't give up just 'cause of what happened between us the day I walked out. I'm not worth it. I want you to be happy." said Leila, tears falling from her eyes as she spoke, hoping that somehow she was getting through as she got no response and he remained unchanged. She remained with him the whole night and the next morning until Sara came to send her home to get some sleep.

As Leila walked into Catherine's place, she expected Catherine to be waiting for her but she wasn't. The house was empty and silent. She headed into her room, collasping on the bed and letting the remaining unshed tears fall from her eyes as she cried into her pillow. She hadn't come back to get some sleep. The only reason she left was because it was killing her to sit there and see the man she loved just laying in that bed, unresponsive and knowing that he almost died because of her. She had almost lost him and that hurt her more than anything. She loved him with every fiber of her being but that didn't seem to be enough for him, she wasn't a good enough reason for him to keep living.

Once her tears had dried and she could cry no more, Leila found that she had to get out. She couldn't stay here, she would only be plagued with thoughts of him. She had to get him out of her head before she went insane so she went to the one of the only places where she could go where no one, if anyone knew her. She hit one of the bars off the strip. It was a dive but it had what she wanted. She ordered drink after drink. She had probably been there at least a couple hours before the bartender thought best to cut her off and called her a cab home. But instead of giving the cabbie Catherine's address, she gave him Greg's address.

After he pulled up the address, she paid him than stumbled out and unsteadily made her way to Greg's apartment, walking inside and making her way to his bedroom where she and Nick had found him, laying down on the bed and burying her face in his pillow, still able to smell his scent. She inhaled it deeply. It was exactly as she remember. It was some time before she allowed herself to drift off toward sleep, for once being able to sleep without her dreams being filled with thoughts of the man she thought she loved, now not being so sure if he was still that man.

The next morning, she was awakened by the sound of her cell phone ringing. It was a few seconds before she pulled it out and answered it.

_"Hey, just thought that I would let you know that Greg is finally awake. The doctor is checking up on his progress right now but he's awake. I thought you might wanna know." _said Sara.

"Yeah, I do. Thank you so much. I'll be right there." said Leila, hanging up. Thinking it best to at least change her clothes but realizing she had none left here, she figured she could borrow some of Greg's until she went back to Catherine's later on. She grabbed one of his shirts and changed into it but not bothering to change her pants. She would at least look like she wasn't wearing exactly the same thing she had been wearing the previous day and no one would think anything of it, or at least that's what she hoped. She grabbed her phone off the bed where she had put while changing her shirt than called a cab to pick her car up from the bar where it was left before she headed to the hospital. She hurried to Greg's room to see Sara standing outside it, waiting for her. She sensed something was wrong. "Sara? What's wrong?"

"It's Greg Leila. He's in a bad way. I told him that you were on your way to see him, figuring maybe he would be happy to see you. He got so angry with me. This is not the Greg Sanders I know. What's happened to him Leila? Did we do something wrong to make him so angry?" asked Sara, clearly deeply upset. There were traces of tears in her eyes.

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out." said Leila, angry at how upset her friend was and that Greg was the cause of it, the last person known to do such a thing to his friends. She headed straight into his room with Sara right behind her. She saw him sitting up in bed, staring down at one of his hands, one of which was bandaged from where he had shattered the mirror. "What the hell is wrong with you Greg Sanders? How could you treat Sara like that?" she demanded, wanting answers.

"Why don't you tell me Leila. You seem so smart so why don't you tell me the answer to that question." said Greg, his voice void of emotion.

Leila was shocked by this behavior. This was not like him. The man sitting in the bed in front of her was not the Greg that she knew and loved.

"What's happened to you Greg? When did you change so much? I would have thought that you would be glad that Nick and I saved your life." she said.

"Yeah, well, you shouldn't have. I didn't want to be saved, I didn't want to live anymore, I didn't want to hurt anymore. And it's because of you." said Greg.

"What? How...how can you say such a thing? It's bad enough that I'm already blaming myself for this, now you're gonna blame me too? I know that things have been bad between us lately, but I didn't think they were bad enough that you would try to drink yourself to death." said Leila.

"Well, guess what Leila, they were. You should have paid more attention. Now get out. I don't even want to look at you anymore, I don't want to be around you. You've hurt me one too many times Leila and the last time was the last time. We're over, this time for good. I hope you're happy." said Greg.

Leila couldn't believe it. This wasn't Greg anymore. Any trace of him was gone and now someone else had taken over his body. He was lost, she had lost him. But she wasn't about to give up so easily. She had given up too easily when she had packed her stuff and left. Now she was going to fight and she wasn't going to give up until she got through to.

"No." she said firmly. "No Greg, I will not leave. You can yell, scream and curse at me all you want but I am not going to leave this room. I gave into you too easily the last time and this will not happen again, I don't care what you say. Nothing has hurt worse than knowing that I almost lost you because you wanted to kill yourself. And I am not leaving here until you talk to me like an adult and like the Greg Sanders I know and love." said Leila.

"You don't love me." said Greg, throwing Leila for a loop. "If you loved me as much as you say you do, you wouldn't keep hurting me the way you do. If you loved me, you wouldn't have packed all your stuff and ran."

"I didn't run Greg. I left because I wasn't going to stay there and let you keep treating me the way you have been." said Leila.

"Well apparently you decided to stay there last night since I wasn't there. Convenient, don't you think? I'm not even sure anymore why I even bothered to love you in the first place. Maybe it's because I felt sorry for you, I don't know but I'm done now. You don't love me or care about me. If you did, you wouldn't keep doing these things to me or using me. I should have seen this coming a long time ago. Well, I see it now and I wish that I'd never loved you. I wish I never even laid eyes on you that day you just showed up here. All you've done is use people. I used to never think that I would ever say this because I didn't see it before, but I do now. You're just like your father." said Greg.

That really cut Leila deep, deeper than anything before. He might as well have slapped her across the face several times. She thought that those would be the last words she would ever hear from Greg. In fact, she never would have imagined that she would ever hear them from him but she had. And it was like a knife cutting into her deep. Even Sara was too stunned to say anything as she watched her friend turn and run from the room, tears flying off her face.

"Yeah, go ahead, run away. That's what you're good at!" she heard Greg run down the hall.

She didn't even stop or look back as she ran out of the hospital and to her car, getting in and heading to the one place she knew and would be alone. She wasn't sure why but she went back to Greg's apartment, locking the door behind her so no one could bother her. She wanted to be alone, completely alone. And she knew what she had to do.

_The rumors flew but nobody knew how much she blamed herself_

_For years and years she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath_

_She finally drank her pain away a little at a time_

_But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind_

_Until the night_

_She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger_

_And finally drank away his memory_

_Life is short but this time it was bigger_

_Than the strength she had to get up off her knees_

_We found her with her face down in the pillow_

_Clinging to his picture for dear life_

_We laid her next to him beneath the willow_

_While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby_

Sara hurried through the lab, looking for Grissom, the one person that might be able to talk some sense into Greg. She knew that Greg looked up to him and respected him. Grissom was one person that Greg never wanted to disappoint. It was apparent after the Demetrius James incident. She also knew that if Leila was in as bad a shape as she thought, Greg was the only person who would able to talk to her and to do that, someone had to get through to him or something very bad was going to happen to her friends and she didn't want that. She finally found Grissom in his office, going through some papers.

"Gil, we've got a big problem." said Sara and without waiting for him to say anything, she told Grissom what had happened between Greg and Leila at the hospital earlier that day. "You have to try to talk to him Grissom before Leila ends up doing something that she'll regret. Greg is the only one who will be able to get through to her but someone has to get through to him. I can't even get through to him, I've tried and I can't reach Leila."

"Alright, calm down. I'll go talk to Greg, see what I can do. You keep trying to get ahold of Leila. Try swinging by Greg's apartment, she might be hiding out there." said Grissom.

Sara nodded than quickly hurried off, heading for Greg's. Even though she didn't have a key, she would find some way of getting in if she had to break down the door herself.


	6. Not Supposed to Love You Anymore

The young brunette sat at a small table alone nursing a drink, trying as though to act as though nothing was bothering her. She had just come to hang out and get things off her mind but as luck would have it, this was something that she couldn't do. Her thoughts kept going back to him and what he had said to her. She could still feel the sting of those words and it was killing her. She watched other people, other couples on the dance floor and around her in the club just having fun, laughing and looking as though they had no problems in the world. She wished she could say the same but she couldn't. It wasn't that easy. She thought that after all the fighting that they had to do for them to be able to even be together, they would never have had to come to something like this but they had and it was one of her greatest regret. She wished that she could turn back time and fix everything but she couldn't. Nothing would ever fix this. It was too late for that now.

"Leila, what are doing here?" asked a familiar voice.

Leila looked up at the owner of the voice to see Sara standing beside her, looking down at her.

"Hey Sar, care to join me?" she asked.

"Don't do this to yourself Leila, you're better than this." said Sara.

"Relax, this is my first drink and I've been here for almost over two hours now. Now sit, at least have one drink with me." said Leila.

Sara pondered this for a moment than sat down next to Leila, telling one of the waitresses to bring her a drink.

"What're you doing here anyway Leila? You should be at home." said Sara.

"I needed to get out, go somewhere, anyway but home. I didn't want to be alone but I didn't really want to be around any of my friends, no offense." said Leila, looking at Sara just to have her flash an understanding smile. "This was one of the first places I could think of. Greg and I used to come here all the time when we wanted a night out. Guess that won't be happening anymore now that he hates me."

"He doesn't hate you Leila, he's just...lost and confused right now." said Sara.

"Yeah, could've fooled me. I'll never be able to forget what he said to me in that hospital room. He might as well have just slapped me in the face. I can still feel the pain from the words. I always thought they were the last words I would ever hear from him." said Leila.

"Leila, listen to me. You have to talk to him, he needs you whether he wants to admit it or not and you need him just as much. I know that he hurt you but deep down, he didn't mean it. I don't know why he's so angry right now but only you can fix it. The doctors agreed to release him from hospital but only if he stays with someone until they feel otherwise. Grissom and I both agreed that it would be best that he stay with us. You can stay too if you like. There's enough room for both of you." said Sara.

"While I appreciate the offer, I don't think I can be around Greg right now with the way he's been treating me lately. I mean, yeah this is the first time in awhile that he has even said a word to me since our big fight but I can't take it anymore. I don't even know what to do to get through to him. I don't know him anymore." said Leila.

"Please Leila. I would love it if you stayed with us and I know Grissom would too." said Sara, trying to persuade her.

Leila heaved a heavy sigh. She didn't want to go back to Catherine's but she didn't want to be alone either. She didn't want to stay with Nick or Warrick even though they were good friends but she knew it could just cause problems later. She knew that she had no other choice.

"Alright, I'll accept your offer. But on one condition. You and Gil can't try to trick or suede Greg and I into making up. We have to do this on our own, one step at a time. Trying to force him into doing so could just make things worse." said Leila.

"Deal." said Sara.

* * *

The first week went fairly well. For the most part, Greg and Leila avoided each other, Leila mostly avoiding Greg so as to not have to fight with him in her godfather's home. That and she was tired of fighting. She wanted things to go back to normal but she knew that it would take a lot on both her and Greg's part for that to happen. She was willing to do whatever it takes to make things right but Greg was another story. And she knew things were going to just get worse before they got better.

Right now, Leila was laying down trying to relax and get rid of the nauseous feeling in her stomach. She had been feeling like this off and on for the past few weeks and it was starting to concern her. She figured she knew what it was but at the same time, she kind of hoped that it wasn't what she was thinking. Deciding to go get something to help her feel better, she got up and grabbed her phone and keys before heading out. Grissom was at the lab working while Sara was there with her and Greg, figuring it best not to leave the two of them alone together too long in case things got a bit out of control.

As she headed to the front door, she heard Sara call out to her.

"Hey Leila, where you going?" asked Sara.

"Oh I'm not feeling too good, a little nauseous so I thought I'd go get something for my stomach. Want or need anything while I'm out?" asked Leila.

"Just something for dinner." said Sara.

"Anything in particular?" asked Leila.

"Nah, just whatever you feel like getting. I'll leave it up to you. Gil will be working late tonight, again." said Sara.

"Hmph, imagine that, Grissom working late." said Leila sarcastically.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Anyway, be careful." said Sara.

"I will, don't worry. I'll be back shortly." said Leila, casting a small glance at Greg who completely ignored her, than she opened the door and left. After stopping and getting something for her stomach, she stopped off and picked up some dinner and headed back. It was a good thing that she had spent so much time with Greg over the past few years and knew what he liked. She headed back into the apartment and into the kitchen. She handed Sara her food, took out hers than walked over to Greg to give him his.

Greg looked up at the food, up at Leila than looked away again.

"Not hungry." he said flatly.

"I don't care if you are or not, you're gonna eat it." said Leila, dropping the food in his lap and walking away to sit down and eat her own. She was about to sit down at the table with Sara when she felt something whiz by her head and turned to see the food she bought for Greg hit the wall.

"Greg!" yelled Sara.

"No, it's okay, let him be Sara." said Leila, standing facing Greg and her eyes boar into his.

Sara decided it to be best if she left. She didn't want to see two of her best friends fighting and she knew that there was little she would be able to do to stop them. This had been brewing for days now, it was best to let them get it out of their systems and hope they didn't kill each other in the process.

"If you have something to say to me than have the balls to come out and say it to my face." said Leila.

"You're a bitch." said Greg.

"Why? Is it because I saved you're life after finding you on the bed, not breathing and a whiskey bottle on the floor? Or does this have anything to do with me walking out?" demanded Leila.

"Both if you want the truth." said Greg. "I never thought that you would ever just walk out on me like that Leila."

"Yeah, well, now you know how I felt when you threw the divorce papers at me and walked out on me." said Leila.

"You cheated on me! What'd you think was gonna happen?!" yelled Greg.

"And I said I was sorry! It was a mistake! How many times do I have to say I'm sorry before you let it go?! It's not like I planned it or anything! And it still hurts knowing what I did and that there's nothing I can do to take it back!" yelled Leila. "But apparently that's not good enough. Nothing I do anymore is good enough for you."

"You're right, it's not." said Greg. With that, he turned and walked away, heading into the room that the two of them had to share while they were staying there.

Leila let him go for a minute, trying to decide if she should follow and finish what they started or not. Then she practically stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

"Alright, what do you want from me? What the hell do you want from me?" she demanded.

"I don't want anything from you Leila." said Greg.

"I don't believe that, otherwise you wouldn't be so angry with me." said Leila. She turned to head back out, grabbing the doorknob and turning it, starting to open the door when it was pushed shut again. She didn't even have time to react when her arm was grabbed and she was spun around, forcefully pushed up against the door and she felt Greg kiss her hard and rough but she didn't even try to stop him or pull away. She didn't really have the energy or desire to.

Some time later found the two of them laying side by side in the bed, nothing but the blankets covering them. Leila lay on her back asleep with Greg on his side next to her, propped up on his elbow staring down at her as she slept. Deep down, he really wanted things to be resolved between them but he knew they couldn't, not just yet. It would take some work before that happened and he didn't want it to happen too fast than have there be regrets later. It was killing him to be so close to her and yet feel so far away. He wanted to tell her how he was really feeling inside and why he was really acting so angry but he was too afraid. He didn't want it to be that easy, then it just might show that he was weak and that he gave into her too easily. He knew it was wrong after Leila had followed him for him to do what he did earlier but he didn't care nor did he regret it. But he also knew that now he couldn't face her again until he was ready. That he did regret. It pained him to see Leila suffering how she was because of him but he didn't see any other way.

"I'm sorry Leila, I truly am but this is the way things have to be right now. I can't explain it. You're not the one I'm angry with, it just seems easier to make it seem that way and for that I am deeply sorry and I intend to make it up to you when the time's right. Things will get better eventually, I promise. But for now this is how it has to be. I hope you can understand that." Greg whispered to her, not really sure if she could hear him or not but it didn't really matter anyway. He carefully leaned down and light kissed her lips, lingering there for a moment before moving away, making sure she wouldn't wake. He gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I still love you. I never stopped loving you, and I never will. I'll always love, now and forever." he said before reluctantly moving away, getting dressed and walking quietly out of the room. He had to get out of there for awhile, to clear his head. He noticed neither Sara or Grissom were home so he borrowed Leila's keys and left.

Leila was awakened by the sound of the door shutting. It took her a minute to realize where she was and that she wasn't dressed any longer. It all came back to her and she looked beside her, hoping to see Greg sleeping next to her but the spot was empty. She felt her heart sink as she realized what had happened and she hated herself for letting it. She slowly got up, grabbing her robe and slipping it on before heading out of the room and finding herself alone in the apartment, her keys missing. It occurred to her that Greg must have taken them and drove her car since his was still at his apartment and both Sara and Grissom's were gone. She picked up her cell phone and immediately called Sara.

"Sara, it's me. Listen, um, I need someone to talk to and you're the first person I could think of." said Leila.

Sara walked in the door a short while later and found her friend sitting alone on the couch, looking thoroughly depressed and her eyes were red from crying.

"Leila? What happened? Where's Greg?" she asked, moving over to sit next to her.

"I don't know and right now I don't care, not after what he just did to me." She saw Sara's confused expression. "He used me Sar, and I let him. I'm such an idiot. He's been so angry with me and I should have seen this coming."

"Leila, tell me what happened." said Sara gently, not wanting to rush her friend.

Leila took a deep breath before telling Sara what happened after she had left when they started fighting and explained up until she had woke up to find herself in bed, naked and alone.

"Then I came out here and my keys were gone. He must have taken them and drove off in my car. I am such a fool. I could have stopped him and I didn't. I'm so stupid." she said.

"No you're not Leila. You couldn't have seen this coming, none of us could have. Greg has been out of control and unpredictable lately. Not even you could have foreseen this." said Sara.

Leila just nodded, a new batch of tears falling from her eyes, down her cheeks.

Sara put her arms around her best friend and let her seek comfort in her arms, letting her cry on her shoulder.


	7. Revelation

Greg sat in some random bar, a karaoke bar if he wasn't mistaken but neither did he care. He was just wanted to get away, get away from everything and this seemed like the best place to do it at the moment. He wasn't even sure how long he had been there but he didn't care, it allowed him to think right now and that's what he needed to do. He listened to the song that was currently playing on the jukebox.

_I pretend that I'm glad you went away, But these four walls close in more every day, And I'm dying inside and nobody knows it but me, Like a clown I put on a show, The pain is real even if nobody knows, And I'm crying inside, And nobody knows it but me_

_Why didn't I say the things I needed to say, How could I let my angel get away, Now my world is just a tumblin' down, I can see it so clearly, But you're nowhere around, The nights are lonely, the days are so sad, And I just keep thinkin' about the love that we had, And I'm missing you, And nobody knows it but me_

_M mm, No one know_

_How blue can I get, you could ask my heart, Just like a jigsaw puzzle it's been torn all apart, A million words couldn't say just how I feel, A million years from now you know, I'll be loving you still, The nights are lonely, the days are so sad, And I just keep thinkin' about the love that we had, And I'm missing you, And nobody knows it but me_

_The nights are lonely, the days are so sad, No one knows, And I just keep thinkin' about the love that we had, Nobody knows, Nobody knows it but me..._

Greg couldn't help but laugh. It was funny how every song that had been playing here lately seemed to fit how he was feeling. He didn't notice the figure that approached him and stopped to stand beside him.

"What're you doing Greg?"

He looked up to see Nick standing over him, looking down at him. His gaze was traveling between him and the glass with the dark liquid in it that he had been nursing since he got here.

"Relax Nick, it's just a soda. What're you doing here anyway?" he asked.

"Sara called me. And from what she told me, you had Leila in tears earlier, worse than ever. She just wouldn't say why and it's really none of my business, even though Leila is like a sister to me and I look out for her." said Nick.

Greg felt his heart sink when he heard Nick say that Leila had been crying but he kept his face blank. He knew why but he wasn't about to tell Nick that. The Texan would most likely just end up knocking him off the stool and onto the floor without a second thought, not that he didn't deserve it.

"You're right, it isn't any of your business." he simply said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Yeah, well, Leila is and I'm gonna not let you hurt her anymore than you have been. I don't even know who you are anymore Greg. You've been like my brother but now..I don't know anymore man. And that hurts me." said Nick.

"Funny, before I got out in the field I was just a lab rat or Grissom's little guinea pig to you and the others." said Greg. He hadn't even realized that another song had started playing and someone was singing it until he recognized the voice of the person singing it. He turned to see Leila, standing on a small stage with a microphone in hand and singing, her eyes closed to avoid looking at him.

"..Don't you know how much it hurts;

"When we don't talk , When we don't touch, When it doesn't fell like we're even in love, It matters to me, When I don't know what to say, Don't know what to do, Don't know if it really even matters to you, How can I make you see, It matters to me

"Maybe I still don't understand, The distance between a woman and a man, So tell me how far it is, And how you can love like this, 'Cause I'm not sure I can

"When we don't talk, When we don't touch, When it doesn't fell like we're even in love, It matters to me, When I don't know what to say, Don't know what to do, Don't know if it really even matters to you, How can I make you see, It matters to me

"Oh when I don't know what to say, Don't know what to do, Don't know if it really even matters to you, How can I make you see, Oh it matters to me, Oh it matters to me, It matters to me..."

When the song ended and the music stopped, Leila finally opened her eyes. She locked eyes with Greg for a minute before putting the mic down and walking out. Greg had been too caught up in watching her that he hadn't seen Nick grab Leila's keys back that he had left sitting on the bar and walk out after her. Leila was leaning back against the wall next to the door. As Nick walked out, he tossed Leila her keys without looking at her and she caught them.

"You sure you're gonna be okay being alone with him now?" asked Nick.

"Yeah. Don't worry, I can handle him. And thanks for your help." said Leila.

Nick just nodded before heading to his truck, getting in, starting it and driving away. Leila watched him go before turning her attention to the ground in front of her, waiting for Greg to realize that he no longer had her keys and to come out looking for Nick. It was a few minutes before he did so, only to find Leila was the one standing outside waiting for him. She didn't even look at him as she spoke.

"You could have just asked to borrow my car, you didn't have to sneak off with it." she said and walked toward her car without waiting for a reply. She climbed in, started it and backed up, stopping next to Greg who still stood in the same spot. "Get in."

It was an order, not a request and Greg knew better than to argue with her right now. He walked around and climbed in the passenger seat, barely making it in and shutting the door before Leila took off out of the parking lot. He chose it best not to say anything, quickly putting on his seat belt for better insurance of living through this. He had never seen her this angry before and it was a bit unnerving to know he was the one who was the cause of it and he was the one on the receiving end of it.

When they got stopped by a red light, he got a big surprise when he took the chance to cast a glance at Leila only to have her slap him hard enough to make his head spin.

"That's for earlier!" she yelled at him.

The light turned green and she took off, almost giving him whip-lash. After a few minutes, she seemed to pull herself together some and calm down just enough so she wouldn't end up getting them both killed.

"You really hurt me earlier tonight Greg. And I'm not talking about the yelling and the fighting. You can't keep avoiding me or ignoring me forever." said Leila.

Greg tried turning up the radio to try and block her out, not wanting to get into this with her right now but she wouldn't allow it and turned the radio completely off.

"Oh no, that's not gonna work this time." said Leila.

Greg continued to ignore her. Fed up, Leila pulled the car over and stopped.

"Alright. You listen to me Gregory Hojem Sanders and you listen to me good. And don't you dare try to get out of this car because I will chase you down and tie you in it! I am tired of the way you have been treating me. I am tired of being ignored, yelled at, cursed out and used by you. But most of all, I am tired of fighting with you. I can't do this anymore but I am not willing to give up on you. You may keep saying that I don't but I do love you and you know deep down that I damn well do so you can try to deny it all you want but that doesn't change a thing. And I know that you still love me so stop saying that you don't because I know better. I know you better than you know yourself right now and this is not the Greg Sanders that I know and that I fell in love with years ago. And you were right about one thing, running away was all I knew how to do but that was 'til I met you and you convinced me that I needed to stop running and that I needed to face my fears if I wanted to get on with my life. And I know that you are hurting but if you would stop thinking about yourself for five minutes and take a good look around you, you would see that you're not the only one who is hurting!" said Leila, stopping for a minute and taking a deep breath to try and calm herself.

Greg was speechless. He had never seen Leila like this, not even the few times that he had seen her confront her father. This caught him off guard and he didn't know what to say. He had never thought to stop and think about how this was affecting her, or the others. He had been so focused on himself and his pain that he didn't care how anyone else felt.

"I don't want to fight with you anymore Greg, but I do want to continue fighting for you, as long as it takes. I am not willing to give up and let you go. I have worked too hard and we have come too far for me to just give up now, for either of us to give up now without fighting. We made it so far Greg, why quit now? I don't understand how you could just give up. And it's killing me right now to see you like this. If you wanna take your own life than fine, go ahead. But also know that you would be killing me too. You'd be taking two more with you. Think you'd be able to live with yourself after that?" asked Leila. She noticed that it had started to rain as she looked out the window but she didn't care as she got out of the car and stood in front of it, leaving Greg to ponder what she had said.

Greg could now see and understand how upset Leila was now. He understood the effect this was having on his friends and his family. Everything that he had heard Leila say to him in the last few minutes slowly started to sink in and he knew that she was right as he replayed it in his head. Then one thing that she had said seemed to jump out at him and catch his attention. He quickly climbed out of the car and joined Leila at the front of it, not caring that they were getting wet.

"What did you mean by 'taking two of us'?" he asked her.

Leila turned to face him, not sure how he would take this now but she knew that she had to tell him. She couldn't wait any longer, he had a right and he deserved to know.

"Greg, I'm pregnant." she said, watching his now shocked face. "I just found out myself. With the way you've been acting lately I didn't know how to tell you. But I can't keep it from you anymore. You have a right to know."

"Is it...?" Greg started but he couldn't finish.

"Yes, it's yours. I've been with no one else but you. Please don't be angry with me anymore. I know things haven't been the best between us as of late but I'm hoping we can fix that, at least for the baby's sake. I wanted to tell you as soon as I found out but I thought it just might make things worse. I was scared." said Leila. She watched him for a minute, waiting for him to explode and start yelling at her, but he never did.

"This is a big step for us." said Greg calmly.

"I know." said Leila, scared where this might be going.

"You think we'll be able to handle something this big?" asked Greg, slowly making his way toward her.

"I hope so." said Leila.

Greg just nodded, saying nothing as he closed the distance between them, standing in front of her so that their bodies were almost touching. He lifted a hand to the side of her face, gently stroking her cheek. He watched her close her eyes and surrender to his touch. He leaned down and kissed her gently and it was full of meaning. He wasn't going to do what he had done earlier. This time he intended to stay. He felt Leila's arms wrap around him and pull him closer. They forgot all about the rain, about where they were, about everything that had been happening between them lately, they forgot about everything but each other. That was all that mattered now, each other and, now, their baby.

* * *

Greg and Leila sat on the couch in his apartment, having changed out of their wet clothes and into dry ones. Greg had given Leila a shirt and a pair of his old boxers to wear like he used to when they first met. Most of her stuff was still at Catherine's and some was at Grissom and Sara's place. They laid together on the couch, Leila on her back with Greg laying on his side next to her with his head on her exposed stomach.

"Greg, honey, you do know that it will be awhile before you'll be able to hear or even feel the baby." said Leila.

"I know, just practicing." said Greg.

Leila couldn't help but laugh, glad that he was excited about this baby. But at the same time, she was a little nervous. She wasn't sure what this baby might mean for them, especially after all they had been through recently. She was also worried how everyone else would react when they told them, even where work was concerned.

"Think we should tell the others?" she asked.

"No, not yet. Let's wait a couple days, see how things go." said Greg.

"What about Ecklie? We can't exactly hide it from him." said Leila.

"We'll tell him when we tell the others." said Greg.

"I think in a couple months, I'm gonna ask to be transferred out of the field and into the lab." said Leila.

Greg sat up quickly and looked at her.

"Don't look at me like that. I've given this a lot of thought. It would be safer for me to be in the lab than the field while I'm pregnant. We both know it. Besides, it'll just make me a bigger target for the criminals, knowing that everyone will be not only be protecting me but our baby as well." said Leila.

Greg did have to agree. It would make him more nervous if she was in the field than in the lab during her pregnancy. At least in the lab, there would be more people able to keep an eye on her, protect her and help her when she needed it. It would help put his mind more at ease.

"Yeah, you're right. I know I'll be able to concentrate easier knowing that you're safe in the lab, both of you." he said, his hand laying on her belly.

"Glad you see it my way." said Leila, smiling.

Greg just smiled back before laying his head back on her stomach, placing a few butterfly kisses on it.

Leila placed one hand on his head, her fingers playing with his hair while her other hand lay on top of his, her fingers tangled with his.

"You know, I think we may have to get a bigger place." she said after a few minutes of silence.

"I thought this one was big enough?" asked Greg.

"Not for us plus a baby dear. You have any idea how much space a baby is capable of taking up?" asked Leila.

"Alright, how 'bout this. We'll start looking around and see what we can find but we won't make a decision 'til we find one we both agree on and we'll wait until a couple months before the baby comes." said Greg, propping himself up on his elbow and looking down at her.

"Sounds good to me." said Leila.

Greg smiled than placed a kiss on her cheek, burying his face in her neck.

Silence passed between them for a few minutes as they just laid in the comfort of each other's presence.

"Baby." said Leila, causing him to lift his head back up and look at her. She placed her hand on the side of his face, stroking his cheek with her thumb. "I know this is coming out of a movie but, do you think that anyone could be doing the same thing we are right now at this very moment?" she asked.

"I hope so, otherwise they have no idea what they're missing." said Greg.

Leila couldn't help but smile before moving her hand to the back his head and pulling him into a searing kiss.


	8. If You Wanna Be

Greg and Leila headed into th lab together for their shift that night, hand in hand. It seemed to catch everyone's attention but they didn't notice as they headed to the break room to sit and wait on the others.

"I think we should tell them Greg. They'll figure it out eventually, especially Catherine with her being a mother." said Leila.

"How are they gonna figure it out? You're not even showing yet." said Greg.

"You saw me this morning, I could barely eat anything, let alone barely keep it down." said Leila.

"Alright, if you are that worried about everyone finding out, we'll tell the team before the meeting." said Greg, sitting down at the break room table next to her with usual cup of coffee.

"Tell us what?"

The two of them looked up to see Warrick and Nick walk into the break room.

"Tell you when the others get here." said Leila.

"'ight, cool. I see you two have worked out your problems." said Warrick, noticing that Leila had one arm around Greg's shoulders and her other hand holding his free one, their fingers laced together.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." said Leila, her and Greg looking at each other and smiling.

"Hey, good to see the two of you are getting along again." said Sara as she and Catherine walked into the break room. "Good 'cause I was starting to get tired of playing mediator between you two." she added.

"Yeah, sorry about that Sar. Neither of us meant to involve you in our problems, especially like that." said Greg.

"Relax Greg, no need to apologize. I've been putting up with you for almost ten years, why stop now." said Sara, sneering at him.

Right then, Grissom walked in with assignment slips in hand.

"Alright, assignments..." he began.

"Uh Grissom, before you do that, Leila and I have something to announce." said Greg, cutting him off.

Everyone turned their full attention on them and the room fell completely silent that you could have heard a pin drop.

"Greg and I, we're gonna have a baby." said Leila, unable to keep the huge smile off her face.

"Wait, you're pregnant?" asked Warrick, making sure he understood her right.

Leila nodded.

"Congratulations!" said Sara, the first to hug the couple in turn. She couldn't help but feel excited for them.

"That's great. It's about time you two started a family of your own." said Catherine, next in line to congratulate the two of them.

"Although I don't know if it's a good thing of a bad thing. I mean, we're gonna have another Greg running around." said Nick.

"Yeah, picture that one." said Warrick.

"At least it'll have some of Leila genes, maybe this one'll be easier to handle." said Sara.

"Hey, I think I resent that you guys." said Greg, trying to act offended.

The others seemed more than happy for the two of them, each of them congratulating the couple in their own way. This was all they would have asked for, just for their friends to accept this news and be happy for them. But not everyone felt so happy at this news. Grissom was the only who had remained silent. And this didn't go unnoticed.

"Gil? Aren't you gonna congratulate them?" asked Catherine.

Grissom looked up at her than around at the others as they watched him and waited for him to say something.

"No, I'm not." he said before he tossed the assignment slips on the table than walked out.

It was a deep blow to Leila and Greg. They were hoping everyone would be happy for them but obviously not everyone was.

"That was a little uncalled for." said Sara.

"Yeah." said Leila. This was what she had been afraid of. She had known the others would be happy for them but Grissom was another story, especially the way he had treated them when he had found out about what happened between the two of them that day in Catherine's car when they had admitted their feelings for each other and when they still saw each other behind his back after he forbid they not to. Before the others could even stop her, she stood up and walked out after Grissom. She headed straight to his office where she knew he would be adn that's where she found him, sitting behind his desk. She closed the door behind her, making sure she shut it hard to get his attention.

Grissom's head snapped up when he heard the door to his office shut and he saw Leila standing before him, not looking at all pleased with the way he had reacted to her and Greg's news.

"Shouldn't you be heading to a scene with the father of your baby?" he asked, the cold tone evident in his voice.

"What's gotten into you Gil? Can't you just be happy for us?" asked Leila.

"Happy for you? Why the hell would I be? Greg has done nothing but hurt you these past few weeks. And then you find out you're pregnant and the two of you act like nothing ever happened." said Grissom.

"We are not acting like nothing's happened, we've put it behind us and moved on. And that's between us anyway, it has nothing to do with you." said Leila.

"Like hell it doesn't. You're my goddaughter." said Grissom.

"You act like every move I make revolves around you. You have since the day you found out about me and Greg. Well I've got news for you Gil, it doesn't." said Leila.

"He basically raped you Leila!" yelled Grissom.

Leila was shocked. She had only told Sara about it, no one else. She didn't know how Grissom could know.

"Sara told me what happened between you two the other night and why you had called her in tears." said Grissom.

"I see. And no he didn't. I could have stopped him if I wanted to. And we both know that Greg would never, **never** force me to do something that I didn't want to do, whether he's pissed at me or not." said Leila.

"Yeah, well, we'll see about that." said Grissom, walking around his desk and heading out of his office.

"Gil, don't!" Leila called after him, following him out and chasing after him before he did something stupid.

Grissom headed straight for the break room where the others were still gathered. He saw that Greg had just poured himself a fresh cup of coffee and was heading to the table with it when Grissom walked over and knocked it out of his hand on to the floor, the cup smashing on the hard floor before he punched Greg, knocking him off of his feet.

"Gil, what the hell!" exclaimed Catherine as she and the others got to their feet and went to Greg.

"What the hell's gotten into you Gil?" demanded Leila as she went to her husband's side.

"I'm gonna say this again and maybe this time it'll sink in and this time I'm not gonna give in so easily. You stay away from my goddaughter you arrogant punk." said Grissom.

"Gil!" exclaimed Leila.

"Look, no offense Grissom, but Leila and I love each other." said Greg as he stood up, Leila standing with him. "And we're gonna have this baby. And you're not gonna stop us from having it or us being together, no matter what you do or say. So you can threaten me all you want, I don't care anymore. I love her and I don't plan on doing anything else to hurt her."

"Now you listen to me you son of a bitch, I know what you did to her, Sara told me. And I'm not gonna let you hurt her like that again. You might as well be her father." said Grissom.

"Gilbert!" exclaimed Sara.

Grissom looked around at his team and saw that they were all looking at him, shocked and bewildered. They were all standing around Greg and Leila, as though they were ready to back them up.

"So you all are taking their side?" he asked.

"Gil, there are no sides. This is their decision, not any of ours. You can't keep trying to make decisions for them, or for Leila for that matter." said Catherine.

Without a word, Grissom turned on his heel and left.

* * *

Leila stood in front of her locker in the locker room preparing to leave now that her shift was over. She was still a little upset. Grissom hardly spoke to her, let alone look at her since the fight in the break room.

Right then, Catherine and Sara walked in and stood next to her.

"Hey. Nick and Warrick are taking Greg out to celebrate him becoming a father so we were planning on taking you out to celebrate you becoming a mother. So, what do you say?" asked Sara.

"Sure, why not." said Leila, closing her locker and heading out of the locker room with Sara and Catherine. "Please tell me those two aren't taking my husband to a strip club."

The looks that both Sara and Catherine gave her told her that they were.

"Great. They're gonna hear it from me when they get back." said Leila.

"Don't worry, I've got it covered. I've got friends everywhere. They'll keep an eye on him for you, make sure he behaves himself." said Catherine.

"My kind of woman." said Leila, giving the three of them a good laugh.

Catherine and Sara took Leila to a local bar but Leila drank only water all night. The three of them danced and enjoyed themselves for hours, well late into the night and the early morning before they finally decided to go home. Leila suggested she drive but Sara insisted that she was capable of driving so Leila didn't argue. Sara climbed in the driver seat, Leila in the front passenger seat and Catherine rode in the back. They had the radio up and were singing along with their favorite songs on a cd that they had made.

"(Sara) So, here's your story from A to Z, You wanna get with me, you gotta listen carefully;"  
"(Catherine) We got Em in the place who likes it in your face, You got G like MC who likes it on an;"  
"(Leila) Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady, And as for me, ha-ha you'll see;"  
"(All three) Slam your body down and wind it all around, Slam your body down and wind it all around."

"(All three) If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends (gotta get with my friends);  
Make it last forever, friendship never ends;  
If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give (you've got to give);  
Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is."

"(All three) If you wanna be my lover;"  
"(Catherine) You gotta, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta, You gotta slam, slam, slam, slam (Sara & Leila "make it last forever")  
"(All three) Slam your body down and wind it all around, Slam your body down and wind it all around, Slam your body down and wind it all around;"  
"(Cathere) Slam your body down and zigazig ah."

"(All three) If you wanna be my lover!"

The song went off and all three girls couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh man, this is so much fun. I doubt the guys are having as much fun as we are." said Sara.

"Definitely not. All they wanna talk about are sex and girls." said Catherine.

Leila just smiled but said nothing, staring out the windshield. She couldn't stop thinking about her and Greg and what the future would hold for them and their baby. It was going to be a really big change for them but she knew they could handle it.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, she saw something or someone run out in front of the car.

"Sara, look out!" she yelled.

Sara saw it just a split second before she slammed on the brakes and jerked the steering wheel, sending the car spinning out of control a couple times before it came to a stop in the middle of the road. They all took a moment to calm down and stop their rapidly beating hearts.

"Everyone okay?" asked Sara.

"Yeah, I'm okay." said Catherine.

"I'm good too." said Leila.

Just then, a truck was coming at them and, before Sara could even have time to react, the truck hit them and sent the car rolling and than everything went dark for the girls.

* * *

A loud ringing cut through the silence of the apartment, waking one man from his sleep. He realized it was his cell phone. He grabbed it off the table next to him and he answered it.

"Brown."

_"Warrick, it's me. Where are you?"_

"Gris? I'm at Nicky's with him and Greg. Why?" asked Warrick, slightly concerned at the panic in his boss's voice.

_"Listen to me Warrick, get Nick and Greg and the three of you meet me at Desert Palms as fast as you can."_ said Grissom, sounding more urgent.

"Whoa, whoa Gris, slow down man. What's going on?" asked Warrick as he sat up.

_"It's the girls. They were in an accident. They're in the hospital." _said Grissom as calmly as he could.

Warrick eyes went wide. It didn't sound good from the way Grissom sounded.

* * *

Greg, Nick and Warrick had practically ran into the hospital where they met up with Grissom in the waiting room and he filled them in on what he knew than Grissom went to Sara, Greg and Nick went to Leila, and Warrick went to Catherine's room.

Greg sat by Leila's bed side, holding her hand in his and silently watching her as though trying to will her to wake up. Nick was sitting in a chair on the opposite side of Leila's bed, watching Greg as he watched and waited for his wife to show any sign of life but she never moved. She was breathing on her own, which was a good sign, and they listened to the steady beat of her heart on the heart monitor she was hooked up to. Despite this, she looked as though she was dead. There were cuts and bruises all over her face and neck, her right wrist was fractured and was in a brace, and there were most likely more cuts and bruises on the rest of her body.

Right then, they heard her moan and they watched in anticipation as her eyes started to flutter as though she was trying hard to open them. Nick moved to stand next to Greg,who stood and moved closer to his wife.

"Leila? It's okay, you're safe. Nick and I are here." said Greg, gently laying his free hand on her head and stroking her hair, trying to help coax her into opening her eyes.

Leila slowly and almost painfully opened her eyes, trying to force them to adjust to the light, gazing around the room before her eyes settled on Greg and Nick.

"Hey, good to have you back with us, we missed you. How do you feel?" asked Nick.

"Sore. What happened?" asked Leila.

"You were in an accident." said Nick. At Leila frightened expression, he added, "Don't worry, the baby's fine."

Leila sighed in relief. Then all of a sudden everything from last night came flooding back to her.

"What about Sara and Catherine?" she asked.

"Catherine's just fine. They're gonna release her by the end of the day." said Greg.

"What about Sara?" asked Leila.

Greg and Nick looked at each other, neither really wanting to have to be the one to tell her. Leila didn't like the looks they gave.

"Sara's in a coma. Doctor's aren't even sure if she's gonna make it." said Nick reluctantly. He knew how close Leila and Sara were.

Leila couldn't believe it. She felt like someone had just crushed her. Her best friend could be dying and there was nothing she could do. She didn't want to believe it.

"I should have stopped her." she said.

"What do you mean?" asked Greg.

"Her and Catherine took me out last night to celebrate my pregnancy. They were drinking, I drank water. We were laughing, dancing and having a good time, a regular girls night. It was late by the time we left. I suggested that I drive since I was the only one not drinking but Sara insisted that she was perfectly fine to drive. I should've argued, I shouldn't have let her drive. She was clearly in no condition to and I let her." said Leila.

"It's not your fault Leila. We all know how stubborn Sara can be. Besides, if you had been driving, you'd be the one in a coma and you most likely would have lost the baby. I know you wouldn't want that." said Nick.

Leila just nodded in agreement, knowing that Nick was right.

"What else do you remember?" asked Greg.

Leila closed her eyes to try and remember what happened on the drive home.

Flashback

_The song went off and all three girls couldn't help but laugh._

_"Oh man, this is so much fun. I doubt the guys are having as much fun as we are." said Sara._

_"Definitely not. All they wanna talk about are sex and girls." said Catherine._

(Voice over)

"That's not true." said Nick

"Can I finish please? If you don't mind." said Leila.

"Right, sorry." said Nick.

Greg couldn't help but laugh at the two of them.

_Leila just smiled but said nothing, staring out the windshield. She couldn't stop thinking about her and Greg and what the future would hold for them and their baby. It was going to be a really big change for them but she knew they could handle it._

_Suddenly, out of nowhere, she saw something or someone run out in front of the car._

_"Sara, look out!" she yelled._

_Sara saw it just a split second before she slammed on the brakes and jerked the steering wheel, sending the car spinning out of control a couple times before it came to a stop in the middle of the road. They all took a moment to calm down and stop their rapidly beating hearts._

_"Everyone okay?" asked Sara._

_"Yeah, I'm okay." said Catherine._

_"I'm good too." said Leila._

_Just then, a truck was coming at them and, before Sara could even have time to react, the truck hit them and sent the car rolling. After the car stopped rolling and came to a stop, Leila looked at the other two._

_"Cath? Sar?" she asked but got no answer._

_Both women were out cold. Sara's head rested in the steering wheel and it was too dark for Leila to see if she was hurt. Catherine was laying across the back seat, a small gash on the side of her face. Leila could feel her head pounding and her wrist was bruised and swollen. She knew if it wasn't broken, it was fractured. The truck that had hit them drove right by. Leila had enough sense to grab her phone, only managing to get the first four numbers on the license plate before she lost consciousness and the phone slipped from her hand._

End of Flashback

"So you got part of the license plate?" asked Nick.

"Yeah. After that truck plowed into the side of us, you can't really expect me to get much else." said Leila.

"You happen to notice what kind of truck it was?" asked Nick.

"I'm pretty sure it was an old pick up. I couldn't tell you much else, it was too dark." said Leila.

"Alright, well you just worry about getting some rest and getting better. I'll worry about finding out who hit you guys and why they didn't stop to help." said Nick.

"Thanks Nick, knew I could alway count on you." said Leila, smiling.

"Of course. You're like a sister to me, the sister I've always wanted." said Nick.

"Don't let your sisters hear you say that." said Leila.

"Too late. And they're jealous as hell." said Nick.

"Oh, thanks Nicky. Last thing I need is your sisters coming after me." said Leila.

"Ah, you can handle them." said Nick.

Right then, the doctor came in and he noticed that Leila was awake.

"Ah, Mrs. Sanders, good to see you're awake. How are you feeling?" asked the doctor.

"I can gladly say that I've had much better days Doc. 'Course I've had worse too." said Leila.

"Haven't we all. You're one lucky woman, you and you're baby." said the doctor.

"About time we got some luck too. As of late, we haven't had much of it." said Leila.

Nick and Greg know what she meant but the doctor just looked at her confused.

"Long story, don't ask. Trust me, you're better off not knowing." said Greg.

"Well, I don't see any reason to keep this heart monitor on. If you gentlemen wouldn't mind giving me a moment alone with my patient." said the doctor.

"Oh I was just on my way out. G, can I borrow you a minute?" asked Nick.

"Yeah, sure." said Greg. He turned to Leila. "I'll be right back." he said, giving her hand a firm but gently squeeze before following Nick out into the waiting room. "What's up?"

"Listen, I'm only saying this as a friend and I'm not trying to be like Grissom 'cause I'm looking out for both of you. I seriously hope that this baby isn't the only reason you're back with Leila." said Nick.

"Nah man, it's cool. We sat up and talked all day yesterday. I don't intend to hurt her anymore and we've put it all behind us. I love her too much plus she having my kid man." said Greg.

"Alright, just checking man. I don't like seeing either one of you two hurting. So you guys got any names picked out yet?" asked Nick.

"No, not yet." said Greg.

"Well you guys need to get some picked out. That baby'll be here before you know it. How you holding up, with the whole pregnancy thing?" asked Nick.

"I'm nervous as hell man." said Greg, leaning back against the wall and running a hand through his hair.

"All new dad's are. You're gonna be a great dad Greggo. Listen, you guys need anything, buzz me." said Nick.

"Alright man." said Greg.

"Take care of your girl man, someone's trying to tell you something. You two are meant to be together otherwise you wouldn't keep finding your way back to each other. Don't screw that up. You better get back to her, she needs you." said Nick as he turned and headed out.

Greg just smiled before turning and heading back to Leila's room. He got back just as the doctor came out.

"Mr. Sanders, your wife sure is the lucky woman. Other than the fractured wrist, it's mostly just cuts and bruises. We're gonna keep her overnight for observation and she should be able to go home tomorrow." said the doctor.

"Thanks doc." said Greg, heading back in Leila's room as the doctor walked away. He saw that she was still awake, most likely waiting on him. "Hey."

"Hey. What'd Nick want?" asked Leila.

"Basically just to tell me that if I ever hurt you again, he'll whip my ass." said Greg as he walked over and sat down on the bed next to her, taking her hand in his again.

"Sounds like Nick." said Leila, glancing away for a minute.

"Leila, I will never hurt you again. Ever. I have been making a complete ass of myself here lately with the way I've treated you and you didn't deserve it. Whatever I said, whatever I did to hurt you, I am truly and deeply sorry for my behavior. And I will spend the rest of my life proving that to you if I have to. I **will** make it all up to you." said Greg. He was about to say something else but Leila silence him by putting her hand over his mouth to silence him.

"I know." she said firmly. She slowly moved her hand away from his mouth, allowing him freedom to speak again.

"You know, for awhile there I thought I actually lost you for good, both of you." said Greg, putting his hand on her stomach.

"For a moment so did I." said Leila, putting her hands on top of his hand. "But I have a feeling that our luck's gonna change for the better." she said, smiling.

"Really?" asked Greg, returning the smile.

"Yeah." said Leila, pulling him down by his shirt collar until their lips met. She kept a hold on his shirt, making sure he couldn't pull back until she was ready to let him do so. And she wasn't going to allow him to until she was well and ready. Right now she just wanted them to remain like this as long as they could, their lips locked in passionate kisses.

"I love you so much Leila." said Greg between kisses.

"I love you too Greg, so much." said Leila, also between kisses.

Silence fell upon them as they continued to kiss for a few minutes that felt like forever to them, like time had frozen and stood still just for them. That is until they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat and they looked up to see Grissom.

"Gil." said Leila, a little surprised to see him. She had thought that he was still upset with her and Greg.

"Thought I'd come see how you're doin', Nicky told me that you were awake." said Grissom.

"How's Sara?" asked Leila, thoroughly concerned for her best friend.

"She's hanging in there. Started breathing on her own about a half an hour ago." said Grissom.

"That's good." said Leila.

"Yeah, it is." said Grissom. He paused, seeming almost hesitant. He knew what he wanted to say and he knew how, he just wasn't used to showing his emotions in front of others. He was a very private person and everyone knew that. Now that had all changed. Since Leila had come to Vegas, he found himself showing his emotions in front of people, mainly the team, more than he ever had and it made him a little weary.

Leila noticed that Grissom had something else that he wanted to say, the reason that he had really come to see them. He hadn't really come just to see her, he had a more pressing reason why he was there. She waited for him to say it, not willing to start the conversation to make him more comfortable. He had brought it on himself. It seemed harsh to her but it was the truth.

"Listen, I know that I owe you both a major apology, especially you Greg. I had right or reason to say or do what I did." said Grissom.

"You're right, you didn't. You really hurt me, hurt us Gil. You don't always have to agree or approve of the things we do but all that we wanted was your support. That shouldn't be too much to ask for but I guess with you it is. Just a little show of support is all we ask." said Leila.

"I know, I'm sorry. It's just...when you and Greg got married, it made me realize how much you have grown up. Then when you announced you're pregnant, I just felt like I was losing you. And I panicked." said Grissom.

"Gil, you're not gonna lose me. I'm not going anywhere. Where else would I go? I belong here with you guys. You, Greg, Nick, Warrick, Sara, Catherine. I couldn't leave you guys, even if I wanted to. You all are my family." said Leila.

"I know, it's just that you're the only daughter I've ever known. Maybe the only one I'll ever know." said Grissom.

"You never know, you and Sara could have kids some day." said Leila.

"Ah, Leila, please. I don't want to even think about my boss and my best friend like that." said Greg, his usual attempt at lighting a situation.

"Oh get your mind out of the gutter honey. I know it's hard for you but please do. Besides, I remember a certain someone who pined over her for years but kept getting turned down by her over and over again before said guy even noticed me." said Leila.

"I resent that remark. And I'm hurt that you would ever say such a thing. I always noticed you, I just figured you were the one that didn't noticed me. Besides, what would a girl like you see in a guy like me?" asked Greg.

"A lot. For one, you are charming with a good sense of humor, good looks to go along with it and a good heart. Plus you know how to treat a girl and how to sweep her off her feet." said Leila, giving her husband an encouraging smile.

"Why thank you, so very kind of you to say so my dear." said Greg.

"Alright Leila, don't make his ego any bigger than it already is. I don't think any of us would be equipped to handle it." said Grissom.

"Ouch. Grissom, that hurt." said Greg in mock offense.

"You'll get over it I'm sure." said Grissom good naturedly.

Leila only smiled at the easiness going on between the two and how they joked with each other like nothing was ever wrong. It made her feel better knowing that none of them held grudges against each other and they could put everything behind them and move on.


	9. One Last Night, One Last Chance

The next day, after a quick check up by the doctors, Leila was released from the hospital but she wouldn't leave. She wanted to see Sara first. She now sat quietly by her friend's bedside, watching her breath but never move, not once except for the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. She had made Grissom go home to get some sleep, get something to eat and shower. Greg even gave him a ride home so they wouldn't have another in the hospital and since he needed to do the same anyway, have stayed up with Leila all day and all night with no sleep. She stayed with Sara, promising both Grissom and Greg that she would call them if anything happened.

"Hey Sara, it's me. The baby and I are both okay, so is Catherine. She was released last night and she was luckier than both of us. Hardly any scratches on her. Me, I got scratches all over my face, bruises and a fractured wrist. You, you got a broken wrist, broken leg and you're in a coma. Guess we kind of got the short end of the deal but hey, could be worse." she paused.

Sara never moved, just continued to lay there and breathe, no change.

"Come on Sar, you gotta wake up. We all need you to wake up. You've gotten to breathing on you own, that's already a good step. Now you just have to wake up, but only when you're ready and if you want to. Grissom stayed with you all night until I made him leave this morning to get some rest. If I know him, that man would stay by your side, even if he died of exhaustion or from starvation, whichever came first. We're all here for you Sar, don't forget that." said Leila.

Silence passed over the room, except for the sound of Sara's heart monitor and the sounds of her breathing. Leila wasn't sure Sara heard her but she believed she had so she just sat there in silence next to her best friend, holding her hand so she would know she was there. All she could do now was wait, and waiting was the worst part.

Over the next few days, everyone took turns watching over Sara as her condition improved but she still had yet to wake up. No one could figure out why. Nick had found the guy that had hit them. It was just some drunk driver that panicked, not wanting to go to jail. Leila thought that Greg would have torn the guy apart for almost killing her and their unborn baby, plus their two friends, but she had been impressed with the way he had kept himself in check. Leila prayed everyday that she would get a call saying Sara had woken up or she would go in to visit and she would be sitting there awake, talking to Grissom or one of the others.

On one small brighter note, while Leila had been in the hospital recovering, Greg had finished up the case the two of them had been working on before the two of them had been fighting. They had both been too distracted to really finish it, let alone get anything done so it was put off to the side. They had started working on it again after the two of them had put everything behind them and forgiven each other but after the accident, Greg had had to work on it alone. Nick had offered to help but Greg turned him down, telling Nick that he could handle it. And he did. He found out that Victor had actually been set up by Jeffery Adams for Alexander Richensen's murder. Then Jeffery had purposely killed himself with the quazepam, hoping that Victor would also be blamed for his murder as well. It also turned out that Alexander Richensen's was Victor and Leda's uncle, their mom's brother. Their mom had never told them about their uncle because she never got along with him and didn't want him around her children, thinking he would be a bad influence for them but Victor managed to find out about him after Alexander became his manager and Alexander told him. Victor had always carried his gun with him for protection but kept it in a lock box in his car. Somehow Jeffery managed to get a hold of it and try to frame Victor.

Now both Leda and Victor were staying with Greg and Leila in their apartment but Victor was only staying until he could get a new job and save enough to get his own place. Leda, Leila was sure, was going to end up moving in with Nick with as much time as she had been spending with him at his place. Leila had had a small talk with Nick but only to warn him that if he ever hurt her cousin that she would personally break both his legs. Leila didn't want the same things that happened with her and Greg to happen with Leda and Nick. She knew it would be just as hard on them as it had been on her and Greg and she didn't want that for them. Plus, there would be no guarantee that they would get back together like her and Greg did.

Things at the lab continued as normal. The only thing that was different was Leila had talked to Ecklie about her transferring from the field to the DNA lab as soon as possible. He had agreed but she needed to discuss it with Wendy first before any final decision could be made. She was heading to do that now.

"Hey Wendy, I need to talk to you about something. It's important." said Leila.

"Okay, shoot." said Wendy, setting aside the sample she had been working on.

"How would you like to have the opportunity to get out in the field for awhile?" asked Leila, knowing that she wouldn't refuse.

"Are you serious? I mean really serious?" asked Wendy.

"Yeah. I already talked to and cleared it with Ecklie and he's agreed to allow you into the field while I'm in here during the duration of my pregnancy. And if you wanna stay in the field, and I want to stay in the lab, we could do that." said Leila.

"That would be great. I'd love to have a shot in the field." said Wendy, clearly excited.

"Good. You'll start tomorrow. Meet Grissom in his office when you come in for shift tomorrow. He'll have someone there to be your mentor." said Leila before turning and heading out of the DNA lab, almost running(literally) into Greg. "Oh, hey."

"Hey. What were you doing in the DNA lab?" asked Greg.

"Talking to Wendy about her getting a chance to work in the field for awhile starting tomorrow." said Leila.

"Tomorrow? I thought that you were gonna wait a couple months?" asked Greg.

"Well after the accident, I figured why wait? We got lucky, I don't wanna jinx it. It'll be safer for me to be here in the lab than out there at crime scenes. Less of a chance of being attacked, accidental or otherwise. So today'll be my last day in the field until after the baby's born, unless Wendy decides to pull a 'Sanders' as Hodges calls it." said Leila.

"Yeah, well, Hodges is an idiot." said Greg.

"A smart idiot, but an idiot nonetheless. You two really need to start getting along better. I know he's annoying but he's not that bad." said Leila.

"Yeah, Hodges and I will get along when Hell freezes over." said Greg as they walked into the locker room.

Leila just smiled and shook her head as she opened her locker.

"What?" asked Greg, watching her intently.

"You two are something else." said Leila as she took off her jacket and put it in her locker, closing it than turning around and leaning back against it.

"Well, when Hodges stops giving me such a hard time whenever I turn around, I'll stop giving him one." said Greg, walking over and standing in front of her, placing one hand next to her head on the lockers and leaning towards her. There was barely an inch of space between them, not that either was complaining.

"Oh, okay. I'll believe that when I see it with my own two eyes, not that I wouldn't take your word for it but this **is **you and Hodges we're talking about." said Leila.

"Ha ha. Not gonna happen though." said Greg, leaning in and gently brushing his lips against hers in an attempt to try and tease her.

"Greg, you better kiss me and you had better not be trying to tease me." said Leila, her voice barely above a whisper.

Greg couldn't help but smile before he finished leaning forward and completing the kiss, keeping it slow but firm. He wanted to enjoy every moment, every kiss, just enjoy the way that she tasted. Leila had the same thing in mind that he did. She also kept it slow but firm as she matched his kisses, one hand resting easily on his cheek. She was enjoying every moment, every kiss, savoring the way he tasted. The two of them took their time, not in any hurry to rush things. They knew that at any moment they could be interrupted and sent back to work but they didn't care as they continued their patient pace.

"Alright, break it up you two. That's how Leila ended up pregnant now." said Catherine as she walked in the locker room.

"You're such a spoil sport Cath." said Leila.

"Whatever you say Leila. You're lucky that Grissom hasn't put a leash on the two of you." said Catherine.

"Oh trust me, he's tried. And failed, miserably." said Leila.

"Oh yeah? What happened?" asked Catherine.

"I chewed through it. Almost chewed off his arm." said Leila.

"I always knew that you were a vicious woman." said Catherine.

"You have no idea. I have to put up with her all the time." said Greg. This earned him a smack.

"See if you ever get anything from me again. And I do mean _anything_." said Leila.

"Ouch. That hurts. You can't cut a man off just like that, we have to have some warning beforehand." said Greg.

"Hey, you brought it on yourself." said Leila.

"Yeah, I know. I still love you though." said Greg.

"I'm sure you do. But the ass kissing isn't gonna work this time." said Leila, trying to look as serious as she could even though she was just messing with him.

Right then, Grissom came in and from the look on his face, the three of them knew that it couldn't be anything good. They just hoped that it wasn't bad news about Sara.

"Hey, we just got a call out. A double murder. Cath, I want you and Greg to handle this one." said Grissom.

"What about me? It's my last day in the field for awhile." said Leila.

"I can't put you on this one Leila, I'm sorry." said Grissom.

"And why is that?" asked Leila, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at him sternly.

"The victims are a thirty-three year old mother and her daughters, one ten and the other seven. All three were stabbed. Father's missing." said Grissom.

It was like deja vu for Leila. She had been seven when her father killed her thirty-three year old mother and her sister had been ten. Her mother had been stabbed too. The only difference was she and her sister had survived, running into their mother's bedroom and locking the door than calling for help.

"I'm going." said Leila. She wasn't in the mood to argue with anyone right now and she wasn't going to let Grissom keep her from going to this scene on her last night in the field. The more of them working the scene, the quicker they could get it done and possibly the quicker it could get solved.

"I'll drive." said Catherine quickly when she saw that Grissom was about to argue. She knew that Leila was not going to back down from this, Grissom would be fighting a losing battle. It was best just to let her win now and save them all the trouble. She walked out of the locker room with Leila following behind her.

"Greg." said Grissom, stopping the younger man as he made to follow after the two women. "Stay close to her."

Greg nodded before following after Catherine and Leila, knowing that Grissom meant Leila. They had both witnessed how she could get when there was a scene that even the slightest reminded her of the night of her mother's murder. There were a lot of painful memories from her past because of her father and usually one or both of them were there to witness it and to comfort her.

* * *

Catherine pulled up to the scene than she, Leila and Greg climbed out of the Denali and headed up to the house, kits in hand. They met up with Brass on the front porch.

"Hey Jim." said Catherine.

"Hey Cath, Greg. Leila. You picked a hell of night to be your last in the field for awhile. Neighbor says that the parents have been in the middle of a bad divorce but didn't seem to know either the parents' or the two girls' names. Apparently the father is some big junkie or something and can get pretty violent when he's on one of his kicks. The mother took the kids and left a few months ago. She's had to relocate quite a few times 'cause the father just seems to keep finding them. Guess this'll be the last." said Brass.

"Any luck trying to locate the father?" asked Catherine.

"None. He's in the wind. I've got every officer available looking for him from the description the neighbors gave us. Neighbors said they heard screams, called 9-1-1. Mother was found in the living room, girls were found in the mother's bedroom. Looks as though they tried to seek shelter there." said Brass.

"Alright, thanks Jim." said Catherine before leading the other two with her into the house. They headed into the living room, which was destroyed, where they found David kneeling next to the mother. "Hey David."

"Hey. T.O.D. was a couple hours ago, probably around midnight. One stab wound to the abdomen and two to the chest. She probably bled out into her chest cavity." said David.

"You check out the two girls yet?" asked Leila.

"No, not yet. They're down the hall if you wanna go ahead. I'll meet you back there." said David.

Leila was already heading down the hallway before David even finished speaking. Greg followed her, knowing it wasn't a good idea to let her go alone. Just before they reached the bedroom, he gently grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Honey, you sure you're gonna be able to handle this?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Besides, I have to get over my fears some time. I can handle this. But only as long as you're there with me." said Leila.

"I'll be right there by your side the whole time." said Greg, taking hold of her hand to reassure her.

Leila took a deep breath, steeling herself before she moved forward and walked into the bedroom. When she walked in, she almost felt her strength crumble but she stayed strong, reminding herself that Greg was there with her and he was there for her if she needed him. She set down her kit than took her flashlight out of her vest but refused to let go of Greg's hand just yet as she shined her flashlight around the room. It was a normal looking room. A typical room for a mother with two kids. The walls were decorated with floral wallpaper, the carpet was a light blue, there were a couple dressers, a night stand, a couple bedside tables with one on each side of the bed and a single bed in the middle of the room. It would have been a nice room if it wasn't for the blood and the two girls lying in it at the foot of the bed.

Reluctantly releasing his hand, Leila walked away from Greg over to the two young girls and knelt down in front of them. The eldest, the ten year old, was laying over the younger girl with her arms around her shoulders protectively.

"It looks as though she tried to shield her, protect her from whoever killed the mother than came after them." said Greg from where he still stood by the bedroom door.

"Yeah. Killer had to get rid of any witnesses, tie up any lose ends. Just too bad it had to be these girls. They still had a long life ahead of them. Even in this job, I'll never be able to understand how anyone can take the life of a child." said Leila.

Greg said nothing, just nodded in silent agreement as he watched his wife with the two young girls. Then he turned his attention away, to the bedroom door. It didn't look as though it had been kicked in or forced open in any way. He examined the door knob.

"No lock on the door. Killer just walked in." he said.

"Girls felt safe in here, that's why they chose their mother's bedroom to run into instead of a room that had a lock." said Leila without taking her eyes off the girls.

"Well, I'm gonna make sure all the doors in our apartment have locks on them." said Greg.

This time, Leila did look away from the bodies of the girls to look up at her husband. She saw that he had a small smile on his face but at the same time he was being serious. She couldn't help but manage her own small smile. Even though she hoped nothing like this would happen to them, it made her feel better knowing they would be prepared if it did.

Right then, David came in the bedroom to examine the two girls.

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting." said David.

"It's alright Super Dave, you know we don't mind waiting." said Leila, feeling a little bit of better spirits than she had been when they had arrived.

"So what can you tell us?" asked Greg as he walked over to join the other two.

David carefully rolled the ten year old onto her back so he could better examine her. Leila and Greg just watched, remaining silent.

"Single stab wound to the chest, probably killed her within a few minutes. I'd say she died about twenty to thirty minutes after her mother." said David.

"What about her little sister?" asked Leila.

David turned his attention to the seven year old, rolling her onto her back as well. She had blood on her but David was having trouble finding a wound on her other than the small one on her head suggesting she had hit her head before she was killed. That's when David paused when his hand touched her neck.

"Uh, guys, I've got a pulse here." he said.

"What?" asked Leila, wanting to make sure she had heard right.

"I've got a pulse. She's still alive." said David.

"Call an ambulance." Leila told Greg as she and David worked quickly to try and revive the little girl.

* * *

The ambulance arrived quickly and by that time, David and Leila had the little girl stabilized. They loaded her onto a stretcher and put her in the ambulance. Catherine rode with her after Leila and Greg had agreed to stay behind and finish up the scene. Leila had wanted to go with the little girl instead but didn't think it would be a good idea so stayed at the house with Greg. David had the mother and the other little girl loaded in the van and taken back to the morgue so Doc Robbins could get started with them. Leila watched the ambulance drive away. Greg stood on the sidewalk watching her as she stood looking after the ambulance, even after it was long gone. She seemed frozen in place, almost lost. He could only guess what was going through her mind. She was probably seeing herself as that little girl like it was the night of her mom's death. He wanted to walk over there and comfort her but he didn't want to scare her either. Slowly and cautiously, he walked over to where she stood. He hesitated for a moment before reaching out and gently laying a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." said Leila.

"You sure baby? I could call Grissom if you don't feel like staying." said Greg.

"No, I'm okay. Just makes me realize how lucky my sister and I were. Our mom had a lock on her bedroom door that night. But then Michelle's luck ran out. Mine almost did, quite a few times. Probably would have if not for you, and the others. You've helped keep me alive." said Leila.

Silence passed between them but they never took their eyes off each other. Then Leila moved closer to Greg and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he put his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"I don't think I'd still be here if it weren't for you. I'm glad I stopped running. I wouldn't have if it weren't for you." said Leila.

"I wouldn't wanna take all the credit." said Greg.

"Take it, you deserve it. I probably would never have come back to Vegas if not for you. I wouldn't have left Miami but I had you to come back to." said Leila. She pulled away just enough so she could look him in the eyes. "You put a spell on me Greg Sanders. And I don't ever want anything to break it." she added with a smile.

"Well, I have news for you Leila Sanders. You're the one who put a spell on me, one that couldn't be broken if I wanted it to be." said Greg, smiling back.

"Really?" Greg nodded. "Well then I guess we've put our own unbreakable spells on each other. Although I don't hear either one of us complaining." said Leila.

"Nah. I believe we're both enjoying it. Come on, we should finish the scene so we can get out of here." said Greg and together, they headed back inside to finish processing their crime scene.

Once they finished and got back to the lab, Leila headed to Grissom's office to see him but when she got there, he wasn't there. She headed to the lobby.

"Hey Judy, have you seen Gil? He's not in his office." said Leila.

"Oh yeah. He left a little while ago to go the hospital to see Sara. Asked me to tell you to meet him there when you, Greg and Catherine had finished with your scene." said Judy.

"Okay, thanks Judy." said Leila before turning and heading back to the layout room where Greg was hauled up looking over their crime scene photos. "I just talked to Judy, she said that Gil went to see Sara and wanted me to meet him out there after we were finished with our scene."

"He's been acting strange ever since the accident. I mean he was strange before but this is un-Grissom like." said Greg.

"Well, break's in ten more minutes, he can wait til then. I'm gonna have a little talk with him. He's probably worried about Sara, we all are." said Leila.

"I still can't figure out why she won't wake up. Doctor's said she should have woken up already but yet she hasn't." said Greg.

"Hey, you know Sara better than me. You tell me." said Leila.

"You know her almost as well as I do. You hang out with her all the time." said Greg.

Leila thought for a moment. Sara was a difficult person to figure out. There were some things she didn't care to share with people but other things she preferred to keep quiet. Even though she and Sara were like sisters, Leila didn't really know her that well. Greg knew her better. Sara had been his mentor and his friend for years, longer than she had been Leila's friend. The more she thought about it, the less she understood Sara. She remember what she had told her in the hospital that day she was released. That's when it hit her.

"Oh God. I think I know." she said.

"What?" asked Greg.

"I know why Sara won't wake up. She doesn't want to. She's afraid of how everyone will react to the accident but most out of anyone else, she's afraid of your reaction." said Leila.

"Why?" asked Greg, seeming a bit confused as to why Sara would be afraid of him reaction.

"Because of me. Because I was in the car, 'cause she was the one driving and she blames herself for the accident." said Leila.

"But it wasn't her fault." said Greg.

"She doesn't know that. No one other than me has tried talking to her, especially about that. She's probably afraid that you'll blame her so she blames herself and refuses to let herself wake up. She'd rather stay in a coma than have you, me or anyone else blame her." said Leila.

Greg closed his eyes as the realization hit him. Despite the crush he had had on her years ago, Sara was his best friend and he understood her better than anyone yet he hadn't seen this coming. This was Sara, the way she was. Even if the accident had really been her fault and no one else's, he could never blame her. He cared about her too much and her friendship meant too much to him to lose it like that.

"You should try talking to her. Maybe you'll be able to make her see how much we all miss her and want her to wake up, that the accident was not her fault and you nor anyone else blame her for it." said Leila.

"You think it'll make a difference if I talk to her?" asked Greg.

"Yes, it will. You and her have been close for years, you should know her way better than I do." said Leila.

"Well, I guess it's worth a shot. I don't exactly know what I can say that'll help but I'll talk to her." said Greg.

"Just tell her the truth. Tell her that the accident was just that, an accident. Tell her that it wasn't her fault and that you don't blame her for it. If there is anyone that she'll listen to, it's you." said Leila.


	10. Memories of the Past & Her Awakening

Greg and Leila walked into the hospital than Greg headed off toward Sara's room while Leila met up with Grissom in the lobby. She saw him sitting in a far corner and she knew the expression he had on his face all too well: the look someone has when they fear they're about to lose someone that they deeply care about. She silently walked over to him and sat next to him.

"You know, it's not good for your health when you worry so much." said Leila, trying to brighten things up.

"I can't shake this feeling that I'm slowing losing her. And it's slowly killing me to see and know she's laying in that bed and there's nothing I can do to help her. I don't know what to do." said Grissom.

"There's not really anything you can do Gil. It's up to her now. And if I know Sara, and I do, she's gonna pull through. She's too damn stubborn to give up. You'll see. This time next week, this will all be behind us and we'll have forgotten all about it." said Leila.

"You sound almost overly confident." said Grissom, looking up at her.

"I am. Trust me, Sara will be fine. We've all been through a lot. It's just taking her a little more time to heal. Now, why did you drag me down here?" asked Leila, wanting to change to topic quickly before Grissom could sink any further into depression than he already was.

"Oh, that little girl from your's, Greg's and Catherine's case. Doctors just finished up with her and I thought you'd like to be the one to process her." said Grissom.

Leila only simply nodded. She than followed silently as Grissom led her to the girl's room. When she looked in, she saw the little girl laying in the bed, sleeping peacefully and she could feel her heart go out for her. No child deserved this.

"I ran her fingerprints. Her name is Zoe Mitchell. Only thing that the doctors could find was a small abrasion on her forehead. Probably what knocked her out. She lost a fair amount of blood but doctors say that she'll be fine in a few days." said Grissom.

"What's gonna happen to her after that?" asked Leila.

"Brass is working on tracking down any family members who could take her in but it's gonna take awhile. Child services will probably take her 'til then." said Grissom.

Leila nodded. She knew all about this kind of thing from experience and she knew it wasn't pleasant for any child.

Grissom saw the expression on her face and knew what it meant but said nothing. He turned and silently walked away.

Leila took a deep breath, steeling herself before she walked into the room as quietly as possibly so she didn't disturb the little sleeping soundly in her hospital bed. She knew that when she did finally wake up, Zoe would probably be scared of anyone who came near her and Leila wouldn't blame her if she was. It was a natural reaction after being attacked. She had had that reaction towards people for years after her mother's death, especially with any man who approached her unless she already knew them and trusted them like she had Grissom. But then she had met Greg and everything seemed to change. She found a trust in him that she had never felt without anyone and they didn't even know each other. Greg became the first guy that she had ever trusted in a long time. This made it easier for her to trust and become friends with Nick and Warrick. Almost everything about her had changed since she had met Greg. She found it easier to trust people, she wasn't afraid to be alone anymore and she no longer felt the need to constantly look over her shoulder. What hadn't changed was her willingness to protect and fight for the people she cared about, her love for fun and her stubbornness, which was a reason why she and Greg would clash sometimes but it was never anything bad. She would never trade the people that she was happy to call her family for anything else in the world. She knew they would always be there for her and that they would always have her back.

* * *

Leila walked out of Zoe's room, having just finished processing her. She hadn't found much and she could only hope it was enough to find whoever attacked her and her family. She was walking down the hall, heading toward the doors when she almost bumped into Greg. She noticed the expression on his face and knew that it didn't mean good news.

"Hey, how'd it go with Sara?" she asked.

"I don't know. I talked and talked until I ran out of anything to say." said Greg.

"You, the great Gregory Hojem Sanders run out something to say?" asked Leila sarcastically.

"Ha ha." said Greg. "Anyway, I told her about the accident and what happened. Told her how you had explained what you had said happened before the accident and after before you passed out and I even told her that I didn't blame her for what happened, that it wasn't even her fault. Just hope it had some effect."

"I'm sure it did. Watch, we'll get a wake up call in the middle of the night saying that she's awake and asking, wait scratch that, demanding to see us. Sara isn't exactly the type to ask for something, not even nicely." said Leila with a smile laugh.

Greg couldn't help but smile slightly.

"So what did Grissom want?" he asked.

"Oh he got an i.d. on the little girl. Zoe Mitchell. Only injury the doctor's found was the laceration on her head. Said she'll be fine in a few days. Grissom gave me the privilege of processing her." said Leila.

"You find anything?" asked Greg.

"Just some fingernail scrapings and a few hairs. I was just on my way out to head to the lab to give them to Wendy when I bumped into you." said Leila.

"So what's gonna happen to her?" asked Greg.

"Brass is trying to track down any relatives but it's gonna take time. I guess child services is gonna take her until then." said Leila as the look in her eyes from earlier returned.

"Alright. What's on your mind?" asked Greg.

"What?" asked Leila, stopping and turning to face him.

"Come on, I know that look in your eyes when I see it. Spill it." said Greg as he stopped in front of her.

Leila sighed heavily before expressing herself.

"Alright. I was thinking that maybe Zoe didn't have to go with Child Services. Maybe she could stay with us until Brass could find any relatives." she said.

"Speaking from personal experience honey?" asked Greg, trying to make a joke out of it to get her to smile.

"Very funny." said Leila, lightly smacking him on the arm and unable to hide the small smile.

"You really think that Child Services will even let Zoe stay with us until Brass can find her family?" asked Greg.

"I don't know but I'm sure I could talk them into it. And I'm sure Cassie would enjoy having someone her age to play with for awhile." said Leila as she turned and headed for the door.

"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" asked Greg as he followed her.

"I know, but you still love me." said Leila, smirking.

"Sometimes I wonder why." said Greg as a joke.

"Ouch, that hurts." said Leila, pretending to be hurt.

Greg just smiled at her, knowing that she wasn't really hurt by what he said and he wasn't going to be fooled by her little act.

Right then, they heard rushing footsteps coming toward them. They stopped and turned around to see a nurse coming toward them. She stopped in front of them.

"Oh good, I caught you both before you left." said the nurse as she tried to catch her breath.

"Why? What's goin' on?" asked Leila.

"It's your friend, Miss Sidle. She just woke up from her coma. She's asking for both of you." said the nurse.

Greg and Leila looked at each other than quickly followed the nurse back to Sara's room. When they got there, they saw that Sara was indeed awake and even sitting up in bed as her doctor checked her vitals. They walked in and as soon as they did, Sara's attention turned to them.

"Greg, Leila!" she said, excited to see them.

"Hey, good to see you're finally awake." said Leila as she set down her stuff and went to Sara's bedside, embracing her friend as tightly as she dared without hurting her and the doctor and nurse saw this as their time to leave. "You gave us quite a scare. Don't ever do that again."

"I'll try not to." said Sara with a small laugh as she hugged her friend back, tears breaking free from her eyes. "Leila, I'm..."

"No. Don't you even think about apologizing Sara Sidle. You have nothing to apologize for." said Leila as she pulled back so she could stare her friend in the eyes as she spoke. "You did nothing wrong. I mean, yeah sure, you shouldn't have been driving after drinking but if I had been the one driving, the doctors said that I would have definitely lost the baby so in a way, I guess you could say you did us a favor, minus the little scare you gave us all."

"I guess you have a valid point." said Sara. She then turned her attention on Greg, who had remained completely silent during the two girls' little exchange, just watching the two friends. "What, I don't get a hug from you?" She asked with a smile.

Leila got up and moved out of the way as Greg walked over and gave his friend a hug.

"Good to have you back." said Greg.

"It's good to be back." said Sara. "I heard everything. I heard everything you said Greg. I couldn't wake up because I was afraid you would be angry with me for Leila getting hurt. I didn't want to lose such a good friend."

Greg could find nothing to say as the two of them held each other a little tighter.

Deciding to give the two some time alone, Leila decided that she needed to get her evidence back to lab and while she was there, she could tell everyone the good news.

* * *

After dropping off her evidence to Wendy and Hodges, Leila headed off in search of the other. As she walked down the hall, she caught sight of them sitting in the break room. Perfect, she could do this in one shot instead of tracking them down one by one and telling them. Catherine and Warrick were sitting silently at the table together. Nick was standing by the coffee machine, sipping on his. Grissom was sitting on the couch, working on a crossword. She walked into the break room and stood in the doorway. It took a few minutes for anyone to notice her.

"Leila, how'd it go with Zoe at the hospital?" asked Catherine.

"About as well as you can imagine. I collected some trace and possibly some DNA from her, gave it to Wendy and Hodges." said Leila.

"Where's Greg? You two are usually attached at the hip." said Warrick.

"He's still at the hospital, with Sara. Which brings me to the news that I have." said Leila, pausing briefly to make sure that they were all listening and she had their full attention. "Sara's awake. She woke up while Greg and I were still at the hospital. One of the nurses stopped us just as we were leaving."

"What? That's great!" said Catherine.

"Is she still awake right now or did the doctors drug her back to sleep?" asked Nick.

"Last I recall, she was still very much alert and probably apologizing to Greg over and over as soon as I left." said Leila.

"Well let's go see her. I'm sure she wouldn't mind a few more friendly faces." said Warrick.

"I'll drive." said Leila and with that, the five of them piled into her vehicle and she drove to the hospital. As soon as she parked, everyone was out and they headed straight to Sara's room, where they found her and Greg joking and laughing with one another.

"Well, good to see that smiling face again." said Warrick as they walked in.

"Hey guys! I'm so glad you came." said Sara, watching the rest of the team file in.

Greg moved out of the way as one by one, the others each gave her a hug. Her and Grissom's last the longest.

"So what took you so long to rejoin the land of the living?" asked Nick.

"Oh you know, guess my body just needed the extra time to heal without me moving around and aggravating my injuries." said Sara.

"Yeah, we all know how stubborn you can be. You'd have been trying to go back to work on day one." said Warrick.

"Well, the important thing is your back now so try not to give us anymore scares like that." said Catherine.

Leila and Greg stood back away from the group just watching the scene in front of them. They had had their turn visiting with Sara, now it's was time for the others to take theirs.

"So, how many times did she try to apologize to you after I left?" asked Leila where only Greg could hear.

"I lost count after five. It took us a few minutes to even realize that you left." said Greg.

"Could it be because the two of you were too busy holding onto each other for dear life?" asked Leila but it was rhetorical.

"Do I detect a hint of jealous in there Mrs. Sanders?" asked Greg.

"Not in the slightest tinie, tiniest bit Mr. Sanders. I have no need to be jealous. There is no other girl out there who could be any competition for me. And no other girl out there could compare to me. So, no worries." said Leila.

"Hey Leila, Grissom's gonna remain here but the rest of us are feeling kind of hungry. What do you say to you and Greggo taking us out for some chow?" asked Catherine.

"I would have to say let's go." said Leila. She knew the real reason why they were all wanting to leave. They wanted to give Grissom and Sara some time alone and Leila was all for it. She and Greg led the way as they all headed out, piling back into her car and heading off.


	11. You're Gonna Miss Her

As the weeks passed, Leila's stomach grew as the baby developed. Her and Greg had been busy looking for a bigger apartment and they finally found one they could afford with three bedrooms; one for the them, one for the baby and one for Cassie and Cassie had agreed to share it with Leda whenever she stayed overnight. Greg painted the baby's room, not wanting Leila breathing in the fumes and then once it was dry, they decorated it. They had even let the others come over to see it and give their opinions.

_ Johnny's daddy was taking him fishin'  
When he was eight years old  
A little girl came through the front gate holdin' a fishing pole  
His dad looked down and smiled, said we can't leave her behind  
Son I know you don't want her to go but someday you'll change your mind  
And Johnny said "Take Jimmy Johnson, take Tommy Thompson, take my best friend Bo  
Take anybody that you want as long as she don't go  
Take any boy in the world  
Daddy please don't take the girl_

Once Leila went on her maternity leave, Grissom had to bring in a temporary replacement to fill in for her until she returned. They got along with Leila's temporary replacement but it wasn't the same working with someone that wasn't her. The guy was more of a suck up and reminded them a bit too much of Hodges. Leila was having a hard time herself. She hated not being able to go to work and be around her friends. She found it got dull sitting at home by herself most of the day. Leda and Victor liked to go out during the day and hang out while Cassie was in school most of the afternoon so that left Leila alone. She would occasionally call Greg or one of the others on their breaks and talk to them for awhile until they had to get back to work, since none of them would allow her near the lab while she was on her maternity leave. And even as her belly grew, she found that her appetite did too.

Finally, one day she got tired of sitting around by herself so she left the apartment and, going against her friends, she made a visit to the lab when she knew the others would be on break and she even brought them all lunch. She found them all in the break room, sitting around the table. They seemed to be discussing a case.

"Hey guys." she said as she paused in the doorway.

"Leila, what're you doing here? You're supposed to be on leave." said Grissom.

"Sorry, I got bored just sitting around by myself. Besides, I brought you guys lunch." said Leila, holding up the bags of food she brought.

"Well, I guess we can make an exception this once since you're being kind enough to feed us." said Warrick.

"I thought so." said Leila, setting the bags down on the table. She grabbed her than sat down next to Greg, handing him his as well, letting the others fight over the rest.

As they ate, they also talked and joked around with one another as they always did. The others told Leila about the temp hired to fill in for her while she was out and she couldn't help but laugh.

"So I guess you guys don't like him much." she said.

"Well, he's easy to get along with but he's no you." said Nick.

"Knew you guys would miss me." said Leila.

"Well, we should get back to work guys." said Grissom.

"Mood killer." said Catherine as they all cleaned up their food.

Grissom, Nick and Warrick were the first to leave the room. Catherine, Sara and Greg hung back for a moment.

"You be careful going home." said Greg.

"I will." said Leila as Greg leaned down and gave her a kiss. "Go catch some bad guys." she said before watching him turn and head out.

"It was good to see you Leila." said Sara, following Greg out.

"How are you and the baby holding up?" asked Catherine.

"Good. Likes to kick a lot at night but you know, you grow used to it." said Leila. That's when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen.

"Leila? You okay?" asked Catherine, seeing the pain etched on her face.

"Yeah. I just felt a sharp pain." said Leila, just before another hit. "Oh, man that hurts."

"Maybe we should get you to the hospital." said Catherine.

"No, no I'm fine." said Leila, starting to stand but immediately sat back down as another pain hit. "Okay, maybe not."

"Come on, I'm taking you to the hospital." said Catherine, helping Leila up and taking her out to her car. She helped her into the passenger than she climbed in the driver seat and drove to the hospital. She turned on the lights and siren so they got through traffic quicker and they arrived within minutes. She helped Leila out and inside. "Can we get some help over here?!"

A nurse came over with a wheelchair and Catherine placed Leila in it.

"I think she might be going into labor." said Catherine.

"How far along is she?" asked the nurse.

"Almost eight and half months." said Catherine.

"Okay, let's get her a room." said the nurse, wheeling Leila off and leaving Catherine in the lobby.

Catherine quickly took out her cell phone and dialed a number, the number to the person who needed to know that Leila was in the hospital.

"Yeah, Greg, I thought I should tell you this first. I just brought Leila to the hospital." she said.

* * *

_ Same old boy  
Same sweet girl  
Ten years down the road  
He held her tight and kissed her lips  
In front of the picture show  
Stranger came and pulled a gun  
Grabbed her by the arm said "If you do what I tell you to, there won't be any harm"  
And Johnny said "Take my money, take my wallet, take my credit cards  
Here's the watch that my grandpa gave me  
Here's the key to my car  
Mister give it a whirl  
But please don't take the girl_

Catherine immediately got to her feet when she saw five people coming her way and she knew that she had some explaining to do.

"Cath, where is she? Is she okay?" asked Greg.

"The doctor just took her back to a operating room." said Catherine, taking a deep breath before continuing. "There's been a complication. Leila did go into labor but they found a problem. She started to hemorrhage. And the only way to save the baby is to do an immediate caesarean section." She hated delivering bad news, especially when it was about one of her friends and she was delivering it to her husband.

Greg slowly sank into a nearby chair.

"What about Leila?" he asked.

"I don't know. The doctor promised they would do the best that they could to save her." said Catherine.

It suddenly felt like the whole world was caving in on them. They all sat in that waiting room for what felt like hours upon hours waiting for word from the doctor on the baby and on Leila. Greg found that he couldn't sit still, feeling too anxious and worried. The others didn't even bother to try and get him to. They all shared his feelings.

"I remember how upset I got when Leila first told us she was pregnant. I felt like I was losing her because it made me realize how much she had grown up and that she didn't need me anymore." said Grissom.

"You're still her godfather, she'll always need you. Just not as much as she used to because she's not a little girl anymore. She knows how to take care of herself." said Sara.

"I remember how nervous she became about becoming a mom and she kept coming to me for advice. I do have to say that she did impress me. Motherhood may be a challenge for anyone but it's one that she is willing to take." said Catherine.

"If anyone is going to be a great mom, it's got to be Leila. I mean, she's got the skills. She helps take care of all of us plus she's now taking care of Cassie and her two cousins. She's a natural parent." said Warrick.

"Yeah, she even took care of Zoe, that little girl from her, Greg and Catherine's case after her mother and little sister were killed until Brass was able to track down relatives. I guess she felt a connection with that little girl and wanted to teach her that even though bad things happen sometimes, you have to appreciate the good and keep going. If anyone knows how to not give up, it's her." said Nick.

"She's a tough girl. She's made it through situations where most of us would have just given up. She's survived through more than most and yet, she's always got a smile on her face. She never lets anything get her down. She pushes on, despite all that's happened to her, none of which she never deserved." said Sara.

"She deserves so much better." said Greg in such a soft voice that they almost didn't hear it but they did.

Silence quickly fell upon the room. No one could think of anything else to say. They had seen or heard of the things that Leila had gone through in her life and always wondered how she managed to keep going. No matter how bad things got she always seemed able to come out of it with a smile and move on. She and her sister witnessed her mother murdered by their father, their father abused them for years physically, mentally and emotionally, he hunted her as she moved from place to place, she found her sister murdered and her brother in-law died in front of her, she had been kidnapped several times, she killed her own father to protect her friends, her and Greg started having problems after she had an affair with her ex whom she believed was dead but discovered that he was actually alive, they had both been shot, nearly blown up more times than they could count and kidnapped by several different people and last year, Leila had been kidnapped than released without reason, her and Greg were almost blown up, they were stalked and chased, Leila would have been stabbed to death if Greg hadn't shot the guy first than she was shot and almost died by the cousin of the boy Greg had hit and killed nearly four years ago. It was safe to say that they had been through more than anyone and yet they had survived each time. But could Leila survive this? It was the question on everyone's mind but one that no one wanted to ask.

_ Same old boy  
Same sweet girl  
Five years down the road  
There's going to be a little one and she says it's time to go_

Right then, the spotted the doctor walking toward them and they all stood up, hoping that he had good news.

"We were able to safely retrieve the baby. She's gonna be just fine." said the doctor.

"She?" asked Greg.

"Yes Mr. Sanders. You are now the father of a healthy baby girl." said the doctor.

Despite not having any news on Leila, this good news was welcomed. Catherine and Sara were the first to hug Greg.

"Congratulations Greg." said Sara.

Once they all got in their congrats to Greg, they all turned back to the doctor, hoping he had more news.

"What about Leila? What about my wife?" asked Greg.

The doctors expression turned grim and they all started to fear the worst.

"We're still trying out best. We're doing everything we can, but I'm not sure that she'll make it through the night. I'm sorry." he said than turned and walked away.

Greg suddenly felt more numb than he had in his entire life. Tears fell from his eyes as he sank to his knees.

_Doctor says the baby's fine but you'll have to leave  
'Cause his momma's fading fast and Johnny hit his knees and there he prayed  
Take the very breath you gave me  
Take the heart from my chest  
I'll gladly take her place if you'll let me  
Make this my last request  
Take me out of this world  
God, please don't take the girl_

More hours passed by as they all sat in the waiting room. The tears had quit falling from his eyes but Greg hadn't moved from his spot on the floor. Sara was sitting next him, holding his hand and doing what she could to console her friend. The others found they could only stare at the floor or out the window. They had each said their own silent prayer and could only hope that they weren't wasted.

By the time their was any word on Leila, most of the others had fallen asleep except for Greg and Sara, the two people closest to Leila. They both immediately stood up when they saw him and silently waited for him to speak.

"Mr. Sanders, your wife is gonna be just fine." said the doctor.

Greg immediately sighed with relief and he and Sara hugged each other, both smiling.

"Can I see her?" asked Greg.

"Yes, absolutely." said the doctor.

Greg looked at Sara.

"I'll tell the others. You go on ahead. She needs you right now." said Sara.

"Thanks." said Greg than followed the doctor as he led him to Leila room, leaving him outside the door. He looked into the room and could see her laying in the bed, her eyes closed so he figured she was asleep. He cautiously walked into the room, not wanting to disturb her. As he drew closer to her bed, he saw her eyes open and fix on him. "Hey." he said, sitting on the bed next to her.

"Hey. Sorry if I gave you guys a scare." said Leila.

"You did but there's no need to apologize. Wasn't your fault." said Greg.

"How's the baby?" asked Leila.

"**She **is fine." said Greg, smiling. They had both agreed to keep the gender of the baby a surprise.

"A girl? We have a little girl?" asked Leila, unable to keep from smiling herself.

"Yep, we have a daughter." said Greg, his smile widening.

Leila couldn't help herself as she pulled Greg down into a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Thank you." she said, a single tear rolling from her eye but it was a happy tear.

"I'm the one who should be thanking you." said Greg, his arms wrapped carefully around her. "And your welcome."

"Feelings mutual." said Leila.

_ Johnny's daddy  
Was taking him fishin'  
When he was eight years old_

The next day, the whole team stood in Leila's hospital room. They had come to see her and Greg's daughter and had even brought gifts. They each got a turn to hold her.

"Have you guys even picked out a name for her yet?" asked Wendy.

"Actually, as a matter of fact we did." said Leila.

"We named her Michelle, after Leila's sister." said Greg.

"Michelle Sanders. Nice." said Hodges.

"Michelle Idunn Sanders." said Leila.

"M.I.S., minus one s of course." said Hodges.

"Hodges, don't make fun of my daughter." said Leila with a slight threatening tone.

Hodges held up his hands in surrender.

"Idunn would be the Norse Goddess of Eternal Youth, correct?" asked Grissom.

"Yes Grissom but you already knew that. We let my mom pick it." said Greg.

"Figures. Momma's boy." said Hodges in low voice but he was still heard as he found out when a piece of ice from Leila's water hit him in the forehead.

Everyone laughed while Leila sat in bed with a smug look on her face.

"When are you gonna learn Hodges?" asked Wendy.

"Apparently never." said Archie.


	12. Karaoke Night

Leila, Greg, Sara, Grissom, Leda, Nick, Catherine, Warrick, Wendy, Hodges, Mandy, Henry, Erika(Archie's girlfriend), and Archie all stood in a club together. They had been planning a night out to hang out and they all finally managed to get the same day off so they decided to head to the club they were now in. It had been Wendy, Mandy and Erika's pick and they said that they had chosen it because it was karaoke night tonight. The other four girls didn't seem to mind so the guys all reluctantly agreed to tag along. They knew that they would end up regretting it by the end of the night. The girls liked to humiliate them from time to time, whenever they got the chance.

"Alright, you picked this place because it's karaoke night. So who's going up first?" asked Catherine.

"Well, I figured I would volunteer to be one of the first. And two of you are coming with me." said Erika.

"And who are the lucky two?" asked Leda.

"One of them is you. Catherine would be pick number two." said Erika.

"I should've stayed home." said Leda, regretting saying anything.

"Relax, there's nothing wrong with being in the spotlight every once in awhile." said Catherine.

"You would know, wouldn't you Cath?" asked Leila rhetorically with a smile as she watched her cousin being drug up on the stage by Erika and Catherine.

Each girl picked up a mic and sat on their own individual stool. Catherine and Erika were both smiling while Leda looked like she would prefer to be sucked into black hole for the rest of eternity rather than be stuck up on a stage with anyone, especially these two.

"Alright, we're gonna do the little restaurant scene from the movie The Sweetest Thing. I'll do Christina Applegate's part, Cath, you're gonna do Cameron Diaz's and Leda, you get to do Selma Blair's." said Erika.

"Yippie." said Leda sarcastically.

"Anyway, Erika, you start us off." said Catherine.

Erika: "So, did we have fun last night?"

Leda: "Yes, I did, it was great. You guys were absolutely right, a transition guy is just what I needed."

Catherine: "Good. So how was he? Was he good?"

Leda: "He was very...sweet and complimentary. And very into pleasing me first."

Erika: "So, uh, how was..how was girth?"

Leda: "Average-ish."

Catherine: "Average-ish. That's good. So what'd you tell him?"

Leda: "What do you mean?"

Erika: "What do we always tell them no matter what?"

Leda: "Oh. Oh..my..God, your penis is so..big."

Erika: "Good girl."

Catherine: "Your penis is so thick."

Erika: "Oh, your penis is just so pretty."

All Three: "You've got a handsome dick!" *all moan*

Catherine: "Your penis is so..hard."

Erika: "Your penis is just so large."

Catherine: "My body is movie..."

All Three: "And your penis is the star!" *all moan*

Catherine as she stands up: "You're too big to fit in here." *grabs her crotch*

Erika as she stands up: "Too big to fit in here." *grabs her ass*

Leda as she stands up: "Too big to fit in here." *raising hands to indicate her mouth & starts moaning*

All three girls than laugh as music starts playing before they begin singing.

"You're too big to fit in here, too big to fit in here, too big to fit in here..."

Catherine: "Oh my God!"

Erika: "Oh my God, it's fame. We're in fame right now!"

All three: "Whee! What a lovely ride, Your penis is a thrill, Your penis is a Cadillac, A giant Coupe de Ville, Your penis packs a wallop, Your penis brings a load, And when it makes a delivery, It needs its own zip code, Nine - double zero - penis;

"You're too big to fit in here, too big to fit in here, too big to fit in here;

"Your penis is so strong, Your penis is so smooth, Your penis has got a rhythm, Your penis makes me groove, Your penis is a dream, The biggest one I've seen, (Leda)It's oozy and it's green, (Catherine, spoken) Ewww, (Leda, spoken) Sorry;

"You're too big to fit in here, too big to fit in here, too big to fit in here;

"You're too big to fit in here, too big to fit in here, too big to fit in here;

"Your penis is so big, Your penis is so thick, Your penis is so pretty, You've got a handsome dick;

"Your penis is so hard, Your penis is so large, My body is a movie, And your penis is the star, "Staring your penis";

"You're too big to fit in here, too big to fit in here, too big to fit in here;

"You're too big to fit in here, too big to fit in here, too big to fit in here."

Everyone applauded the three girls as they finished than headed off the stage and back to their friends.

"Wow, that wasn't bad ladies." said Warrick.

"Thanks. Now you, Nick and Archie get to go up next." said Erika.

"What? Why?" asked Nick.

"Because your girlfriends just went up and now it's your turn." said Erika.

"Great. Come on guys, let's get it over with." said Warrick.

"I knew they were gonna end up humiliating us before the night was over." said Archie as they reluctantly headed up to the stage.

"Alright, what do you guys wanna do?" asked Warrick.

"Let's do some Fall Out Boy." suggested Nick.

"Taking a page out of Greg's book man?" joked Warrick.

Nick just glared at his friend as he tossed him his mic and the music started.

"(Nick) She says she's no good with words but I'm worse, Barely stuttered out, A joke of a romantic stuck to my tongue, Weighed down with words too overdramatic, Tonight it's "it can't get much worse", Vs. "no one should ever feel like...";

"I'm two quarters and a heart down, And I don't want to forget how your voice sounds, These words are all I have so I'll write them, So you need them just to get by;

"Dance, Dance, We're falling apart to half time, Dance, Dance, And these are the lives you love to lead, Dance, this is the way they'd love, If they knew how misery loved me."

"(Archie) You always fold just before you're found out, Drink up it's last call, Last resort, But only the first mistake and I...;

"I'm two quarters and a heart down, And I don't want to forget how your voice sounds, These words are all I have so I'll write them, So you need them just to get by;

"Why don't you show me a little bit of spine, You've been saving for his mattress, love;

"(w/Nick)Dance, Dance, We're falling apart to half time, Dance, Dance, And these are the lives you love to lead, Dance, this is the way they'd love, If they knew how misery loved me."

"(Warrick) Why don't you show me a little bit of spine, You've been saving for his mattress (Nick: mattress, Archie: mattress), I only want sympathy in the form of you crawling into bed with me;

"(w/Nick&Archie) Dance, Dance, We're falling apart to half time, Dance, Dance, And these are the lives you love to lead, Dance, this is the way they'd love, Dance, this is the way they'd love, Dance, this is the way they'd love, If they knew how misery loved me;

"Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance."

Once again, the whole place filled with applause as the three guys walked off stage and rejoined their friends. Instead of Erika telling them who was going next, Leila, Sara, Wendy and Mandy went up to the stage on their own and they already had the song picked that they wanted to do.

"(Leila) If I could turn back time, If I could find a way I'd take back those words that hurt you and you'd stay;

"I don't know why I did the things I did, I don't know why I said the things I said, Pride's like a knife it can cut deep inside, Words are like weapons they wound sometimes

"I didn't really mean to hurt you I didn't wanna see you go I know I made you cry, but baby;

"(w/Sara) If I could turn back time, If I could find a way, I'd take back those words that hurt you, And you'd stay, If I could reach the stars, I'd give them all to you, Then you'd love me, love me, Like you used to do, If I could turn back time;

"(Wendy) My world was shattered I was torn apart, Like someone took a knife and drove it deep in my heart, You walked out that door I swore that I didn't care, But I lost everything darling then and there

"Too strong to tell you I was sorry, Too proud to tell you I was wrong, I know that I was blind, and darling;

"(w/Mandy) If I could turn back time, If I could find a way, I'd take back those words that hurt you, And you'd stay, If I could reach the stars, I'd give them all to you, Then you'd love me, love me, Like you used to do, If I could turn back time;

"(Leila)Ooohh, If I could turn back time;

"(Sara)If I could turn back time;

"(Wendy)If I could turn back time;

"(Mandy) Ooh baby;

"(Mandy) I didn't really mean to hurt you, I didn't want to see you go, I know I made you cry, Ooohh;

"(w/Leila, Sara & Wendy) If I could turn back time, If I could find a way, I'd take back those words that hurt you, And you'd stay, If I could reach the stars, I'd give them all to you, Then you'd love me, love me, Like you used to do, If I could turn back time;

"(Leila&Sara) If I could turn back time ([Wendy&Mandy]turn back time), (Leila&Sara)If I could find a way ([Wendy&Mandy]find a way), (Leila&Sara)Then baby, maybe, maybe, You'd stay;

"(all four; starts to fade)Reach the stars, If I could reach the stars."

And again, applause filled up the place as the four girls rejoined their friends. Greg put his arm around Leila and placed a soft kiss to her temple. He knew why she had sung that song but it wasn't going to say anything. He knew he didn't have to.

"Alright. Greg, Grissom, Hodges and Henry, you guys are up." said Erika.

"Oh, no way. I'm not going up on that stage." said Grissom.

"Come on Gil, live a little. Have some fun for once in your life." said Catherine.

"Karaoke is not my idea of fun Cath." said Grissom.

"Either you get up on that stage or we will drag you up there kicking and screaming." said Sara.

Grissom knew he lost. He sighed than followed Greg, Hodges and Henry up on to the stage. He let the other guys chose the song, preferring to hide in the shadows but they wouldn't allow it. Instead, they made him go first.

"(Grissom) You could've bowed out gracefully, But you didn't, You knew enough to know, To leave well enough alone, But you wouldn't;

"(Greg) I drive myself crazy, Tryin' to stay out of my own way, The messes that I make, But my secrets are so safe, The only one who gets me, Yeah, you get me, It's amazing to me;

"(w/Grissom) How every day, Every day, every day, You save my life;

"(Henry) I come around all broken down and crowded out, And you're comfort;

"(w/Hodges) Sometimes the place I go, Is so deep and dark and desperate, I don't know, I don't know;

"(Henry & Hodges) How every day, Every day, every day, You save my life;

"(Greg & Grissom) Sometimes I swear, I don't know if I'm comin' or goin', But you always say something without even knowin';

"(Greg) That I'm hangin' on to your words, With all of my might and it's alright, Yeah, I'm alright for one more night;

"(Greg & Henry) Every day...;

"(all four) Every day, every day, every day, Every day, every day, every day, every day, every day;

"(Greg) You save me, you save me, oh, oh, oh;

"(all four) Every day, Every, every, every day;

"(Grissom) Every day you save my life."

Applause could be heard all around and Leila, Sara, Wendy and Mandy were cheering and whistling their guys as they rejoined them.

"That was great honey." said Leila as she put her arms around her husband and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Yeah, you guys sounded good." said Wendy, hugging Hodges.

"See, told you it wasn't that bad Gil." said Catherine.

"And you were right as usual Catherine. I should never have doubted you." said Grissom.

"Then why do you?" asked Leila with a wicked grin.

"Geeh, Leila, I don't know." said Grissom.

"You mean the great Gilbert Grissom doesn't have an answer for something? There's a shocker." said Nick.

The others couldn't help but laugh. They all ordered drinks than went to sit down, sitting around the rest of the night drinking, joking, laughing and dancing the rest of the night. One couple at a time started to leave as it got late until it was just Greg, Leila, Nick, Leda, Hodges and Wendy left. They sat around enjoying the late night/early morning as the dj starting playing a new song.

_Got to meet the hottie with the million dollar body  
They say it's over budget, but you'd pay her just to touch it, come on_

"Oh, I love this song!" said Leda excitedly.

"Well, then may I have this dance?" asked Hodges, offering his hand.

"Sure." said Leda, taking his hand and leading him out on to the dance floor.

_Needs to hit the big screen, and shoot a little love scene  
If Hollywood had called her, she'd be gone before you holler, come on_

"I can't believe my cousin is dancing with Hodges." said Leila.

"Well, since he's dancing with my girl, would you care to dance with me?" asked Nick.

"Well, why not." said Leila as she took his hand and they joined her cousin and Hodges.

_Dirty little lady with the pretty pink thong  
Every sugar daddy hittin' on her all night long  
Doesn't care about the money, she could be with anybody  
Ain't it funny, how the honey wanted you all along_

Greg and Wendy were left alone at the table while their watched their significant other dance with their friends.

"Wanna dance?" asked Wendy.

"Alright." said Greg, taking Wendy by the hand and leading onto the dance floor, joining their friends.

_(You naughty thing)  
You're ripping up the dance floor honey  
(You naughty woman)  
You shake your ass around for everyone  
(You're such a mover)  
I love the way you dance with anybody  
(The way you shake)  
And tease them all while sucking on your thumb  
You're so much cooler when you never pull it out  
'Cause you look so much cuter with something in your mouth_

_Crafty little lip tricks  
Tattoo's on her left hip  
She's bending as you're spending there's no end to it so baby come on  
Dressed up like a princess  
Bettin' that her skin smells  
Better than the scent of every flower in the desert come on_

_Dirty little lady with the pretty pink thong  
Every sugar daddy hittin' on her all night long  
Doesn't care about the money, she could be with anybody  
Ain't it funny, how the honey wanted you all along_

_(You naughty thing)  
You're ripping up the dance floor honey  
(You naughty woman)  
You shake your ass around for everyone  
(You're such a mover)  
I love the way you dance with anybody  
(The way you shake)  
And tease them all while sucking on your thumb  
You're so much cooler when you never pull it out  
'Cause you look so much cuter with something in your mouth_

_She loves the night scene bar queen  
Just living for the fun taking over every dance floor like she's the only one  
In the spotlight all night kissing everyone  
And trying to look so innocent while sucking on her thumb  
(So much cooler)  
When you never pull it out  
(So much cuter)  
With something in your mouth_

_(You naughty thing)  
You're ripping up the dance floor honey  
(You naughty woman)  
You shake your ass around for everyone  
I love the way you dance with anybody  
(The way you shake)  
And tease them all while sucking on your thumb  
(You naughty thing)  
You're ripping up the dance floor honey  
(You naughty woman)  
You shake that ass around for everyone  
(You're such a mover)  
I love the way you dance with anybody  
(The way you shake)  
And tease them all while sucking on your thumb  
You're so much cooler when you never pull it out  
'Cause you look so much cuter with something in your..._


	13. Reminising the Past

Author's note:_ Sorry guys, I know there were two other chapters that I originally posted on here but I decided to get rid of them and post this chapter instead. I know it's short but I think it suits the story better. Besides, I didn't really like the other two chapters I had posted before(for those that read them and know what I'm talking about)._

* * *

Leila and Greg slowly woke up the next morning laying in their bed, still in their clothes from last night, not having bother to change when they had got home. Leila tried to get up but Greg wrapped his arms around her tighter and refused to let her up. She couldn't help but laugh.

"Greg, come on, let me up." she said, making another attempt to get up but it proved useless.

"No. Let's just stay in bed the entire day." said Greg.

"We can't, we have to go get Cassie and Michelle from Catherine's. We can't make Lily watch them forever. Now come on, get up." said Leila as she threw the covers off both her and Greg.

Instead of this making Greg get up, he simply rolled over and pulled the covers back up over himself. Leila couldn't help but laugh at him. He could be so stubborn sometimes but she had to admit, it was cute.

"Come on honey, if you get up I'll make you your favorite breakfast." she said, moving closer to him and leaning in close enough to his ear. "And then maybe later, you'll get a special treat."

Greg moved enough to look over his shoulder at her.

"Really?" he asked, wanting to check and make sure she wasn't just messing with him.

"Mmmhmm." said Leila, leaning down and kissing him deeply, pulling away after a couple minutes.

"Alright, you win. I'm getting up." said Greg.

"Works every time." said Leila as she got up and headed out of the bedroom. She saw that Leda was already up and sitting on the couch by herself. "Morning. Didn't Nick come home with you last night?"

"Yeah, but he's still in bed. Doesn't wanna get up, wants to stay in bed all day." said Leda, getting up and following her cousin into the kitchen.

"Greg was the same way a few minutes ago. Just do what I do with Greg, say that you'll make him favorite breakfast and than seduce them out of bed. Works for me every time." said Leila as she grabbed what she needed and set to work on making breakfast.

"Thought you're suppose to seduce them into bed, not the other way around?" asked Leda.

"Yeah but every once in a while you have to do the opposite, like on days like this when they don't want to get out of bed." said Leila.

"I'll have to remember that." said Leda.

"You know, I still can't believe that you danced with Hodges last night." said Leila.

"Yeah, and from what I heard and saw, you danced with Nick last night." said Leda.

"Well he had no one else to dance with since his girlfriend was dancing with another guy." said Leila.

"I don't think I'm exactly his girlfriend. I mean, he has even kiss me yet." said Leda.

"What? Nicky, our Nicky has so much as kissed you yet?" asked Leila, surprised.

"The most we're ever done together is cuddled. I wish that Nick and I had what you and Greg have. You guys are always together, you never miss a chance to give each other a kiss even if it's a quick one and you guys look like you have so much love for each other. What Grissom and Sara or Catherine and Warrick is nothing compared to what you and Greg have." said Leda.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't always so merry and rosey for us. We've had to fight for each other and fight to be together. When we first met, I knew I had deep feelings for Greg but I refused to act on them because I wanted to protect him. I didn't want to see him get hurt and I didn't want to get hurt again." said Leila.

"Because of your dad. So how did the two of you get together?" asked Leda.

"Well, we were working on this case back when I first started at the lab. We ended up following our suspect to California to try and find him. When we went to his house, we were attacked by these two guys and after we arrested those guys, we took a break and went to get something to eat. I stayed in the car while Catherine, Nick and Greg went inside. A few minutes later, Greg came back out with his food and brought me mine as well. We kind of ate in silence and then afterwards, I guess you could say that he kind of backed me into a corner. He asked me, right out of the blue, why I was always avoiding him and if it was something that he did or said. That's when I told him everything, about my childhood, my father, everything." said Leila.

"So what did he do after you told him all that? Did he say anything?" asked Leda.

"No. He just simply stared at me for a second than he leaned forward and kissed me. It was just a quick one but it was all I needed. After he pulled away, I kind of sat there for a minute, a bit stunned but than I grabbed him and kissed him back. We started making out like there was no tomorrow in that back seat, at least until Catherine and Nick came out and caught us." said Leila.

"And you guys have been together since?" asked Leda.

"Yeah. I mean, we went out on a few dates after that just so we'd have time alone and get to know each other better but we've been together ever since. Of course, when Grissom found out, he tried to stop us from seeing each other." said Leila.

"Yeah right. I'll bet you two kept on seeing each other." said Leda as Greg walked out of the bedroom and joined the two of them.

"Yes we did. 'Course when Grissom found out that we were seeing each other behind his back, he was so pissed. He almost went a whole day without speaking to either of us. Then when I told him that I wanted to ask Leila to marry me, he gave his full support. Isn't that right babe?" asked Greg as he walked over to Leila and stood behind her.

"Yes it is honey." said Leila, giving him a quick kiss than turning her attention back to make them all breakfast.

"Wow. Sounds like a case of true love at first sight." said Leda.

"I guess you could call it that but we had to fight like hell for us to even be together. And just not with Grissom. We had to fight Ecklie, the department, the FBI, almost everyone. I don't think anyone outside of our friends at the lab wanted us to be together. Hell, I even had to win over his parents." said Leila.

"Why's that?" asked Leda.

"I think he had more to with my dad and everything he kept putting us through. Couldn't say that I blamed them at the time but I for one am glad that we didn't listen to anyone that tried to keep us apart. I think now in the end, all of it was worth it." said Leila, smiling over at Greg.

"Wow. Can't believe after all the things you guys went through over the years you've managed to stay together and even stay as sane as you are." said Leda as Leila placed a plate of food in front of her and another in front of Greg.

"Who said anything about us being sane? Right baby?" asked Leila, her arms around his shoulders as she stood behind him.

"Exactly. We're probably two of the least sane people you'll find." said Greg, giving his wife a quick kiss.

"I stand corrected." said Leda before turning her attention to her food in front of her.

"Hey Greg, can you believe that for the few weeks that Leda and Nick have been together, he had never kissed her?" asked Leila as she walked back into the kitchen.

"Really? Well, I guess we'll have to do something about that." said Greg.

"Why do I feel a setup coming?" asked Leda as she watched her cousin dig out a large pot and a metal spoon. "What're you going to do with those?"

"You'll see, or hear rather." said Leila, grinning mischievously as she headed for Leda's room.

A few short minutes later, they heard banging of metal against metal followed by Nick yelling before Leila come running out of the room as fast as she could, setting the pot and spoon on the counter. She couldn't stop herself from laughing so hard and apparently neither could Greg or Leda. Nick came walking out of the room a few seconds later.

"I swear Leila, I'm not gonna be able to hear properly for the next week thanks to you." he said, messing with ears to try and clear them.

"Sorry, I had to get you up somehow." said Leila.

"You could have found a nicer way to do it without making all that noice." said Nick as he sat down next to Leda. "And you could've have tried to stop her, she's your wife." he added, looking at Greg.

"Yeah, right. You know I can't stop her from doing anything if I try." said Greg.

"Stop your whining Nicky. Here, I made breakfast and I even thought of you even though I had to get your ass up." said Leila, setting a plate in front of him.

"Thanks, I guess. Least you were kind enough to think to feed me." said Nick.

"Your welcome." said Leila, grabbing her plate and sitting down next to Greg.

The four of them spent the rest of the time eating their breakfast and swapping old stories for Leda's amusement.


	14. Epilogue

_Okay, for those of you that need this final chapter, even though it doesn't pertain to the story in the slightest, I have made a list of all the songs that I used in this story._

_

* * *

  
_

_1. In chapter 4, titled The Memories We Made, And Could've Made, I used Please Remember by LeAnn Rimes. I first heard this song while watching the movie, Coyote Ugly_

_and is featured on her album, The Best of LeAnn Rimes._

_2. In chapter five, titled What Hurts the Most, I used to songs. The first one is What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flatts off their album Me and My Gang. I thought this song_

_would be a perfect fit to what Greg is going through in this chapter._

3. Also in chapter 5, I used a second song called Whiskey Lullably by Brad Paisley featuring Alison Krauss from his Mud on the Tires album. I thought both songs would be

_perfect for both Greg and Leila to represent what they were going through during this chapter._

_4. In chapter 7 titled Revelation, I used the song Nobody Knows It But Me by Kevin Sharp. This is a song I first heard back when I was a kid. I thought it would fit well with how_

_Greg was feeling and what was going through his mind at the time. _

_ 5. Also in chapter 7, I used the song It Matters to Me by Faith Hill from her album It Matter to Me. This song I think fit nicely with how Leila was feeling and the message that she_

_was trying to get across to Greg._

_6. In chapter 8 titled If You Wanna Be, I used the song Wannabe by the Spice Girls from their first album in 1996 titled Spice. I figured this would be a fun song for Catherine, Sara_

_and Leila to kind of sing out along with._

_7. In chapter 11 titled You're Gonna Miss Her, I used Tim McGraw's Don't Take the Girl off his second album Not a Moment Too Soon. I thought this one fit with this chapter_

_perfectly with Leila going into labor and the wait that Greg and others had to endure waiting on any news._

_8. In chapter 12 titled Karaoke Night, I couldn't resist the oppurtunity to give these guys a fun night out on the town. I mean, it is Vegas. The first song I used is from the movie_

_The Sweetest Thing called the Penis Song performed by Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate and Selma Blair. In this chapter, I had Catherine, Leda and Erika perform it._

_9. Also in chapter 12, I used the song Dance Dance by Fall Out Boy. I thought this would be a good song for three of our boys to sing, those boys being Nick, Warrick and Archie. I_

_guarantee the girls got some amusement out of it._

_10. The next song in chapter 12 that I used is Cher's If I Could Turn Back Time. I found this to be a meaningful song for Sara, Leila, Wendy and Mandy to perform for their guys._

_11. The fourth song that I used in chapter 12 is called Every Day by Rascal Flatts. This was definitely a meaningful song for our guys (Grissom, Greg, Henry and Hodges) to perform to_

_their girls (Sara, Leila, Mandy and Wendy). I think they sent a clear message to the woman that they fell in love with._

_12. The fifth and final song that I used in chapter 12 is called Something In Your Mouth by Nickelback._

_

* * *

  
_

_I hope that those of you that have read this have enjoyed and please feel free to give me any reviews and let me know how if it was any good or if it needs improvement. I have another_

_story that I am currently working on. It doesn't involve any of my characters from this story. It is a Greg centered story and features a new girl that he finds himself falling for. Please _

_check it out: .net/s/4994803/1/Finding_The_One_You_Love. It only has one chapter so far and I need some ideas for a few possible more. Let me know if you like_

_it the way it is or if you want more.  
_


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